"Eating For Two" And Other Pregnancy Myths

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“You can't get pregnant if it's your first time.”

“Coca-Cola makes a good spermicide.”

“Standing on your head after sex can help you get pregnant.”

“If you take 20 aspirin right after sex, you won't get pregnant.”

There have always been myths surrounding pregnancy-some plausible, some crazy and some downright stupid (like the last two). While the tales above are a bit juvenile, these are only the tip of the 'pregnancy-myth' iceberg. Here are a few of the more common pregnancy misconceptions, and the truth behind them.

• You can tell what sex the baby will be from where it is positioned. One common myth says that your baby will be a boy if it is carried 'low' on your body, and a girl if it's carried higher. I've also heard the opposite-a boy is carried high and a girl is carried low. The truth is that there isn't any way to tell what sex the baby will be without an ultrasound or amniocentesis.
• If the mother has heartburn, the baby will be born with a lot of hair. Seriously, have you ever met a pregnant woman who didn't get heartburn? :) All kidding aside, there is no correlation between heartburn and the amount of hair a baby has.
• You can't eat sushi (or smoked salmon) while pregnant. While it is true that some fish should be avoided during pregnancy due to the possibility of mercury poisoning, salmon is not one of them. In fact, the fact that salmon has a lot of omega-3 fatty acids suggest that it's actually good for pregnant women. As for sushi, most of it is okay in moderation-perhaps 12 oz a week, which amounts to about 2 maki or rolls. The only fish that pose a mercury poisoning risk and should be avoided during pregnancy are swordfish, shark, tilefish and king mackerel.
• You can't be around cats while pregnant. While you shouldn't clean the litter box (see my post about toxoplamosis here), petting Fluffy is fine. I'm sure she's glad to hear it! :)
• Caffeine should be avoided during pregnancy. There is some truth to this one, but only when it comes to drinking coffee in excess. One cup a day shouldn't cause any problems.
• You can't dye your hair during pregnancy. The dye doesn't 'seep into your scalp' or anything, so dyeing your hair won't necessarily cause problems for your baby. The same goes for perms, bikini waxes and other treatments; there's nothing in the chemicals touching your skin that can harm your baby. The fumes, on the other hand, can damage your baby's development if breathed in regularly. In other words, stay out of the nail salon but don't worry about touching up your roots with the home kit from Target.
• You need to eat a lot more food than normal because you're 'eating for two'. A pregnant woman only needs to eat about 300 more calories per day than she usually does. Sorry, you'll have to find another excuse for that tub of ice cream!

There, I've now given you some insight into those nagging worries. I know these are only a few of the dozens of myths surrounding pregnancy, but hopefully I've at least made a dent in the confusion you may be feeling.

'Cereal At Night' And Other Baby Misconceptions

  

Few things inspire more curiosity and confusion than a new baby. Between trying to figure out why he's crying to what she'll eat to how he'll get along with the family pet, there are a lot of things about new babies that remain to be seen. It can be very overwhelming! In an effort to help ease the pressure, I've found several misconceptions about babies that I'd like to clear up. Hopefully this will help you figure things out, or at least give you a laugh.

1. Babies are always born with blue eyes. This myth probably came about because many babies' eyes haven't begun to produce melanin (coloring agent) yet, making them appear blue. However, this is not true for all babies. Some babies are dark-eyed from birth. A related myth says that, if a baby's eyes are going to change color, it takes six months for this to happen. This is also not true; there isn't really any 'set' timeframe for melanin production.
2. Babies don't have kneecaps. There actually is a bit of truth to this one. Babies are born with what look and function like kneecaps, but they are not made of bone. They are actually cartilage, but will turn to bone as the baby grows.
3. Babies have the same type of bones as an adult does. Babies are born with over 300 'bones' in their bodies, but most of them are still cartilage that hasn't fused and turned into bone yet.
4. Babies are colorblind. From two weeks of age, most babies are able to see colors. Bright, primary colors are easier for them to focus on, but they can see color.
5. Sleep gets better after three months. While it might seem that a baby sleeps better as it gets older, there isn't any real 'timeframe'. However old a baby is, environment and being on a regular 'sleep schedule' has the biggest impact on how she sleeps.
6. Every little sound will wake a newborn up. Some babies are very light sleepers and wake up a lot anyway, but it isn't necessarily because of the sound around them. If fact, newborns don't hear well at all because there is still a lot of fluid in the middle ear that will drain as time goes on. Until it does, a baby's hearing is nowhere near as good as some people think it is.
7. Feeding your baby cereal around bedtime will help her sleep through the night. While babies may wake up during the night because they are hungry, feeding them cereal won't help. In fact, it's not recommended before about six months of age because younger babies may not be ready for solid foods!

And finally, for the silliest myth of all:

Your cat will steal your baby's breath as he sleeps. While there are plenty of other reasons not to let your pet into your baby's bed, cats can't suffocate or 'steal' baby's breath. First of all, they have no way of creating the airtight seal around the baby's nose and mouth that is necessary to prevent it from breathing. Cats may have willful and creative brains, but not that much. Furthermore, why would they want to? Many of them don't even like babies. :)

I hope I've given you an idea about which things you hear about babies are true and which are not. I have no idea where the one about cats came from, but it's been around for a while. It just goes to show, just because a story is old doesn't mean it's true!