3 Major Myths about Pregnancy

While conventional wisdom still has its own comforts and knowledge of what to expect during pregnancy, some of that age-old ‘wisdom’ has found itself phased out with our most recent technological updates and cutting edge fetal research. Interested? Keep reading to find out which pregnancy myths science has dispelled.

3 Major Myths about Pregnancy

Here are three myths that science has recently dispelled about your pregnancy.

1. Avoid All Stress at All Times – Actually, fetal development experts have found that women who experience a moderate amount of stress during pregnancy. While no one would suggest a pregnant woman subject herself to continual undue stress, moderate stress has proven actually beneficial to the fetus. A bit of stress helps to tone the fetus’s nervous system and accelerate its development. Those women who reported to experience moderate stress levels during pregnancy had two week old infants with brains that already work at a quicker speed than the infants of mothers who reported mostly stress-free pregnancies. The moderately stressed pregnant mothers also ended up with two year old toddlers who had higher motor and mental development scores.
2. Old Wives Tales Can’t Predict the Baby’s Gender – You’d think an article created to dispel myths wouldn’t have even gone here. However, fetal research actually does confirm some truth to those old wives takes may exist. For instance, women who have serious bouts of morning sickness really are more likely to have a girl, while those who’s appetites seem to have run out of control are more likely to birth boys.
3. Weight Gain During Pregnancy will not effect the Fetus – While most women understand that their diet might need to be more closely monitored during their pregnancy, few likely truly understand the impact on their children when it isn’t. Women who gain the recommended amount of weight during their pregnancy have children who are four times more likely to be overweight. These weight issues also tend to last well into that child’s teen years. Similar research reported that children born to average-weight mothers are less at risk of being overweight. Their bodies actually process carbohydrates and fats in healthier ways than previous or subsequent siblings born to the same mother who was at an unhealthy weight during pregnancy.

So maybe all those myths aren’t myths and maybe some are. Luckily for all of us, science is making incredible leaps and bounds in fetal research and understanding. It’s only up to us to listen and practice the habits that make for healthier, well-balanced children.