Pregnancy myths

Most of the people get confused about some facts of pregnancy. Today we are going to talk about some pregnancy myths that people used to believe. Let’s find out whether it is true or not.


1. “You have to double your food intake during pregnancy because you need to nourish the fetus, too.”

Well, there are no proven scientific facts about this myth. But if you increase your food intake, you may be overweight and so will your child. During the first six months of pregnancy, the fetus gets the required nutrition from the mother and there is no extra calories requirement for the mother at all. During the last three months of pregnancy, the mother may need about 200 extra calories for a day. ( Experts recommend over 2000 calories ‌ as daily intake during the last three months).


2. “You have to avoid caffeine (eg- coffee) during pregnancy.”

Pregnant women were recommended to avoid caffeine in the past. But, recently, new studies state that the use of caffeine is safe for pregnancy. The pregnant women can take 12 ounces of coffee that is equivalent to 200 mg of caffeine safely.


Note- You should not drink more than the recommended amount.


3. “You have to avoid doing exercises if you get pregnant”

Exercising is a good habit for the mother as well as the fetus. It has benefits both physically and mentally. If you used to have the habit of exercising before pregnancy, you can keep on doing the exercises by the recommendation of your doctor. But doing some exercises that you are not familiar with before pregnancy should be avoided. Moreover, there are some exercises that are not suitable for pregnant women such as boxing, starching, hiking, hot yoga and some other exercises that have a certain amount of risk of accidents. Walking around 30 minutes a day during pregnancy (at least 5 days a week) has a great benefit for both mother and fetus. If you haven’t done any exercises before pregnancy, don’t worry. You can start doing light exercises such as walking and some exercises that can easily be done at home.


4. “Morning sickness always happens in the morning”

Most pregnant women feel unpleasant feelings in the first trimester of the pregnancy. That is totally normal for pregnant women and that symptom is called morning sickness. But the term doesn’t belong to the symptoms at all. Morning sickness doesn’t mean the morning thing. It can happen at any point of the day. The symptoms of morning sickness can be relieved by taking vitamin B6 or drinking warm ginger soup. If your symptoms get worse and you can’t handle it, you should see the doctor.


5. Applying creams and serum can prevent stretch marks that start to appear during pregnancy”

Applying creams and serums can reduce the formation of stretch marks but cannot fully prevent the formation of stretch marks. You can apply creams up to three times a day to maintain moisture of your skin. If you are not sure which cream is suitable for your skin, you should consult with the doctor.


6. “Pregnant women should stay away from cats”

An infectious disease called toxoplasmosis can be transmitted to humans through the excretion of the cats. But even if the mother was infected with that disease before she was pregnant, the immune system of the mother can protect the fetus from such infection. Although the mother can stay near the cats during pregnancy, the excretion such as faeces of the cats should be avoided from touching it because there are dangerous consequences if the disease is infected to the baby. Restrict going out of your pets from your home. In case you need to clean the faeces of the pets or dirt on the ground, make sure you use gloves to prevent the infection.


7. “The shape of the abdomen can distinguish whether it’s baby boy or baby girl by its appearance”

It’s totally impossible. The gender of the fetus can only be distinguished by ultrasound imaging technology.


8. “Mother can drink a glass of wine or so during pregnancy”

Mother should not get drunk with any types of alcohol containing liquids. The data is different due to the different tolerances in drinking in women and so there is no strong scientific evidence but not taking alcohol during pregnancy is the safe way for both mother and fetus.


9. “Sexual intercose with your partner during pregnancy can harm the fetus in the uterus”

If your OG or doctors or nurses who give care your pregnancy status don’t warn you not to have sex with your partner, you don’t need to worry and can have sexual intercose safely.

The fetus exists in the uterus and the penis of the male partner cannot reach the uterus. So sexual intercose is safe and it cannot cause preterm labor. Sometimes, pregnant women may feel nauseous feeling during sexual intercose or during orgasm. It is just normal and you don’t need to worry about it.


10. “If mother is overweight, it doesn’t not affect the fetus”

There are many relations between mother and fetus. The child of obese mother has 4 times increased risk of obesity than the child of normal weight mother.

Hope you get knowledge about pregnancy myths. Stay tuned for more interesting articles.