Pregnancy Myths & Truths - Sivan
10.01.18

Pregnancy Myths & Truths

Not everything I’m going to discuss in this post is actually a myth per se, but they are commonly believed things that I have found to be untrue for my pregnancy. At this point I am 40+ weeks pregnant and anxiously awaiting my baby’s arrival so I have had an opportunity to try out some labor inducing “tricks” that sadly did not work for me. There are also some myths I’m curious to see if there is any truth to, but will have to report back after I give birth. Things like my heartburn–will she have lots of hair? Active baby means active baby? She moves around in my belly SO much that I’ve been told she’s just active and will most likely continue the same way out of the womb. WHO KNOWS, right?! But I’ll definitely keep you posted on all of it.

I don’t have too many myths to debunk so today’s post is on the shorter side. Would love to know if you have experienced any of the following and if you had a different result. At this point, I’m pretty cynical about any pregnancy myth, as nothing has really applied to me or helped me. Let me know!

PREGNANCY MYTHS & TRUTHS *during my pregnancy*

-Gender String / Ring Predictor. I first saw this gender guessing myth on the Kardashians. I didn’t know the gender of my baby at the time so I thought it would be fun to try. Paul and I used my wedding ring and some string (you can find the full instructions online) and got opposite results each time we did it. With no conclusive results, we gave up.

-The The Salad to induce labor. There is a pizza place in Studio City called Caioti’s and their famous labor-inducing salad has a pretty legit success rate. Unfortunately, for me, it didn’t work. I ordered the full-sized salad, which is just romaine, watercress, walnuts, gorgonzola and some very vinegar-y dressing, and ate the whole plate. It was yummy, but did nothing for me.

-Raspberry Leaf Tea to induce labor. My sister made me drink this to help induce labor and again, did not work for me.

-Squatting will give you sciatica issues. Not for me. I luckily had no back or side pains during this pregnancy. Not sure if it’s related at all, but I found that working out throughout the entire pregnancy helped me not only stay in shape and healthy, but kept my limbs and muscles limber and loose so nothing ever felt tight or restricted.

-Pineapple to induce labor. I ate it, drank it, and nothing. In the beginning of my pregnancy so many people sent me warning messages about eating pineapple that I kind of steered clear but obviously I totally could have enjoyed it because it did not induce me into labor.

-First Child timing. This is my first baby and I’ve heard that first born babies come early AND late. At this point I’m late, but a lot of my friends have had their firsts early….so….I don’t believe anything is “typical” when it comes to your first baby’s arrival.

-Walking uphill to induce labor. Everyone swore that if I walked uphill the baby would come. I’ve been hiking and walking on full incline on the treadmill daily and you guessed it…no baby still!

-Exercise during pregnancy. Many people were shocked that I worked out up until a couple weeks ago. I stopped at 39 weeks when my knee started giving out and my workouts just became too rigorous for me. As long as you’re doing something you’re already used to, there is nothing to be afraid of while pregnant. I wouldn’t advise anyone to start a brand new intense workout after you’re pregnant…but staying active while pregnant is definitely something I believe in.

-Carrying a certain way. I cannot tell you how many people would stop me to ask if I’m having a boy. Apparently the shape of my belly is the way women carry boys. Not sure what that means exactly, but nope, I’m having a girl.

-Spicy foods. You crave it, it induces labor….neither was true for me. The only thing spicy foods did for me was give me unbearable heartburn.

-Foot massages to induce labor. I got a nice long foot massage at the nail salon this past weekend in an effort to speed things along and it did not work. According to the various masseurs I’ve spoken to, the pressure point between your big toe and second toe is where you need to be careful so maybe the nail salon just didn’t hit the right spot??

-Soft cheese. People are told to avoid it during pegnancy but I ate burrata and other soft cheeses during my pregnancy. I just made sure I was eating pasteurized cheese.

-Wine. You’re allowed a glass here and there but I felt like I could hold off while pregnant since I’ve had my fair share in life. The ONE time I poured myself a tiny glass of wine I felt nothing and ended up getting a headache so I decided it wasn’t worth it. I’ll wait until I can truly enjoy my 2 glasses.

-Cravings. I had none! They say you get cravings when your diet is lacking something so maybe it’s just a good sign that I’m eating a well balanced diet. Not entirely sure, but Paul got pretty lucky on this one. No 1AM runs to the store for him!

-Boob soreness. I was sore in the very beginning (like first trimester), but haven’t been since. Very curious to see what happens once I have the baby and my “milk comes in.”