If there is something that is surrounded by all kinds of myths and beliefs, it is motherhood. A few weeks ago I told you about some grandmother's advice that doesn't work with your baby and that are based on beliefs that are passed from generation to generation.
But these kinds of thoughts not only involve raising or caring for children, many of them begin long before, so much so that there are even many myths about fertility.
On this occasion, I want to tell you about the beliefs about pregnancy that have no basisWell, many are just superstitions.
During pregnancy you must eat for two
Let's start with one that is very common and that many people repeat (more as a joke than as serious advice), when you are pregnant you should eat twice as much now you are feeding two people.
But in reality, the metabolism of the pregnant woman is adjusted to extract more calories from food and maintain energy without the need to eat more. Imagine if this were true, how much should multiple mothers eat?
Wearing enamel during pregnancy could harm the baby
There is a belief that using nail polishes during pregnancy could harm the baby by the chemicals they contain. However, there is no definitive scientific evidence that this is totally true, as some studies consider that the amount that reaches the placenta is minimal to represent a real danger.
In my case I always chose to take the nails to the natural, but if you want to manage you can always choose to look for enamels free of certain chemicals such as toluene or formaldehydes.
Do not cross your legs in pregnancy because you "cut" the baby's oxygen
Supposedly when we are pregnant we should avoid sitting cross-legged, because if we do we can stop sending oxygen to the baby. But this myth does not make much sense since oxygen reaches the baby through the blood that travels through the umbilical cord, which nothing has to do with crossing the legs or not.
If you have a lot of burning or sour it is because the baby will be born with a lot of hair
I remember that during my pregnancy, chewable antacid tablets were my best friends because I couldn't stand the sour. Derived from this, many people told me that my baby would surely be born with a head full of hair, since acidity was "a symptom of an abundant scalp."
Coincidence or not, my daughter was born with a lot of hair, however there is no evidence that these burning are related to the amount of hair on the baby's headIn addition, there are mothers who suffered equally and their babies were born with the bald head.
The shape of the belly determines the sex of the baby
"If your belly is round it will be a girl, if it is beaked it will be a boy", some people say. In Mexico it is even very common for older ladies to approach and touch your belly, to determine the sex of your baby. There are some who claim that they are experts and presume never to have been wrong. However, we must remember that neither the shape nor the size of the belly can predict the sex of the baby.
During pregnancy it is dangerous to exercise
In some places a pregnant woman is still considered as if she were sick and did not have the ability to do many things she did before she became pregnant. However, it has been proven that exercising during pregnancy is very beneficial, as long as it is done following your doctor's recommendations.
Do not go out during an eclipse because your child will be born with some malformation
Although there is no evidence that eclipses affect pregnant women, this is a very common belief, especially in Mexico, so it is advised that those who are waiting for a baby, avoid going out during an eclipse. But as a good superstition, it also has its remedy: if it is necessary for the pregnant woman to leave when an eclipse is occurring, the grandmothers advise placing a red ribbon on the belly with a golden pin, since this "will prevent the moon's rays from affecting to the baby".
Do not lift your arms over your head because the umbilical cord is tangled in your neck
According to some people, it is believed that if a pregnant woman raises her arms above her head, the umbilical cord may become entangled in the baby's neck. Remember that although it is possible for the cord to get tangled around the baby's neck during pregnancy, only between 20% and 40% of them are born with the cord tangled in the neck and are solved with a simple maneuver. In addition, there is no evidence that raising the arms or moving in a certain way causes the umbilical cord to become entangled in the baby's neck.
You must not cut your hair
This is one of the most absurd pregnancy myths I have read about pregnancy. According to some moms, they were told not to cut their hair during pregnancy since doing so the vitamins and nutrients that their baby needed would go to the hair because they would need them to grow back. Of course this is not true and It has no relation to cutting your hair or not with the development of the baby during pregnancy.
Did you know these beliefs about pregnancy? Which ones did they tell you?
