Since my wife has been pregnant we've been exposed to dozens, possibly hundreds, of baby myths. Some are old, some new, but all of them sound a bit strange to me. My wife agrees that some of them are a bit strange, and asked me to do some digging. So, here are some of my favorite baby myths that I've heard since I found out I'm gonna be a daddy.1. Predicting your baby's sex:
There are probably a million different wives tales and superstitions about predicting your baby's gender. The foods you crave, where you carry, how and when the conception took place, and even a Chinese Calendar. Those are just the normal ones too. There are some weird ones involving draino (no really I'm not joking), keys, pencils, how much you pee or poop, and if you get dizzy. I hope I don't need to much evidence to convince you that all of these are superstitions and none of them are true. Not ONE OF THEM. They are all old wives tales, designed to help put a little order into the maelstrom that is pregnancy in an age before medical science and technology allowed us to actually determine the sex of your baby in the womb. This is the only subject that doctors are unanimous on.
2. Have Heartburn? You will have a hairy baby:
This one sounds like a load of crap, but it's actually true! Two independent studies done by John Hopkins, and the British Medical Institute determined that you are between 70% and 80% more likely to have a hairy baby if you experience frequent heartburn during pregnancy.
3. Music (Especially Mozart) makes your baby smarter:
I hate to break it to you if you bought Moazart CD's (or other classical music) but this one actually isn't true. There have been over 300 studies to date since the original report in the 1990's that Mozart helps make babies smarter. Of all the studies done, NONE of them were able to replicate the originals results. They did however find links to music, especially calming music for infants, leading to calmer babies that typically learned spatial awareness faster than those who don't listen to calming music.
4. Baby Einstein helps your baby develop faster:
Sorry to burst your bubble again, but Baby Einstein at the very least does nothing to help your baby, while some research studies being done on extreme use (parents who sit there babies in front of it for 3+ hours per day) show that it actually retards developing language and motor skills. The cause, as stated in a recent study done by the University of Washington, is that the lack of parental interaction causes the babies to slow and sometimes reverse in development. Other studies done by The University of California and Harvord (to name a couple) stated that absolutely ZERO difference was found between babies who did and did not watch Baby Einstein videos. Unsurprisingly babies need love and attention to learn and develop their motor functions. A TV just can't give that to them.
5. Caffeine (or Coffee) Causes Premature birth and slowly developing babies:
This one is a half truth. Caffeine has been extensively studied for years, and in 2008 a series of studies published by the FDA stated that more than 1 large cup of coffee (12 oz per day) caused double the amount of preterm labors and still births. That sounds terrible but it isn't true. The studies in question did not test caffeine intake from sources other than coffee. In case you didn't know, caffeine comes from more than just coffee. Tea, soda, chocolate, many medications, and anything made with any by products of coffee, tea, or chocolate all contain varying levels of caffeine. Even decaf drinks contain small amounts of caffeine. So the FDA's study was fundamentally flawed by not testing all the variables.
A series of studies more recently sponsored by the European Health organization, conducted in Denmark, found a very different conclusion. Specifically for pregnant women though, they found that Caffeine in normal doses (200 mg or less) per day has no negative effects on fetal development whatsoever. That's the equivalent of 16 ounces of coffee per day. Where people run into big problems is the 500 mg limit and beyond. At 500mg of caffeine you are twice as likely to have a preterm or still birth. At 800 mg your chances triple, and it only goes up from there. However, 500mg is 40 ounces of coffee. The average american drinks about 18 ounces of coffee per day. That means that if you are an average coffee drinker you don't have to worry. Only those that binge drink coffee (if I was pregnant I'd be so screwed) have to worry about it. You do have to remember though that eating chocolate and drinking soda adds up to your caffeine intake as well. So, you may have to make some cutbacks. If you need help I would recommend cutting back on caffeinated soda and chocolate first. Don't switch to decaf coffee, or only replace a little of your coffee intake with it. I'll explain that one farther down.
6. You're pregnant so you can't fly/use X-Rays/body scanners/metal detectors
This one sounds real and even scary. All those X-Rays produce radiation, and flying does too! Plus who knows what particles come out of a body scanner or metal detector! The truth is that this is all made up by scared people who don't understand what these devices do. It's not true, you can do all those things while pregnant.
First lets start with Flying. One of the ways this myth got started was airlines don't like late third trimester mothers on their planes, and honestly can you blame them? They don't want to be responsible for you if you go into labor while flying. They don't have the staff or facilities to deliver a baby. Other than that concern, unless you have a pregnancy complication, flying is fine. You get less Radiation flying than you do from an X-Ray (which is safe, I'll get there), and as long as you wear comfy close and stretch a bit you don't have to worry about any sort of muscle issues, cramps, and blood draining from places it shouldn't
X-Rays are perfectly safe while pregnant too. Radiation poisoning, dangerous levels, and other risks are hard to explain in a paragraph, but to cut to the chase the potentially deadly level of radiation for an unborn baby is direct exposure to 10 Rads at once (typically 10 Rads only increases risk for mental retardation or deformities, however potential for death exists), or over a very short period of time (according to research done by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)) . The rest is dissipated over time naturally just like the radiation we are exposed to every day from the sun and normal living conditions. Even a direct abdominal X-Ray, which is the worst form or radiation your baby would ever come into contact with, is only 0.8 Rads. that means that you could get 10 X-Rays at once and still be under the limit. Other forms of common X-Rays are dental, chest, and for minor injuries such as arm or leg fractures. These expose your baby to even less, and you can wear a lead shielding cloth to block out any scattered Radiation that could come into indirect contact with your baby.
Airport Body Scanners and metal detectors are last on the list. These are both extremely regulated by the FDA, EPA, and TSA (depending on where they are located and the type they are), and are considered 100% safe by all organizations. A metal detector does not put off any harmful radiation or other particles at all. Basically a metal detector works by having a sensitive electrical field, and as you pass through it metal upsets the field causing the detector to go off. That's it, and the earths electromagnetic field is much stronger than any metal detector ever could be, so you are safe there. Body scanners emit only .0000025 Rads per scan, putting them way way way below the 10 Rad limit for harming your baby. Meaning that body scanners are safe as well. Even if a body scanners malfunction the maximum output of radiation from one is only 5 Rads in severe catastrophe. This would not be directed entirely at your baby, and so they would receive even less than this. They simply are not powerful enough to harm your baby or you.
7. Sexy Time has to wait till the baby is out.
Sorry ladies, pregnancy is no excuse to deny your man sex (usually). The biggest reasons people say it's a no no is that it's either uncomfortable or it will harm the baby. Sex during pregnancy is different that sex without pregnancy. As pregnancy progresses a woman's body changes in lots of ways both inside and out. so doing it can become uncomfortable at times. This is not the result of a problem, it is just the result of a change in a woman's body. Some nights you may need to say no, but all you have to do is just find new comfortable positions to have sex in.
On the issue of harming the baby, Ob/Gyn's all over agree that unless you have a pregnancy complication sex is not harmful to the baby in any way. Contractions caused by an orgasm are different than birth contractions, so no worries about accidentally causing labor. The uterus and placenta are also very strong, and protect the baby from potential harm caused by movements, and to ease dad's mind, his penis won't hurt the baby either. It's physically impossible for it to get up into the uterus.
8. You can't eat sushi/lunch meat/red meat/fish/or something else.
If you're anything like my wife you eat all of these things on a regular basis, but pregnancy forces you to give them up because it's bad for your baby. Right? Well like almost everything on the list, this isn't true either.
There are two root issues here that all of these things relate to. The first is listeria. Listeria is a very very very rare bacterial infection that if not caught can lead to meningitis or other deadly diseases. However it is very rare. According to the WHO (World Health Organization) your chances of catching listeria in America are .000007% or 7 out of every 1 MILLION people. To put that into perspective that's about the chance of being struck by lightning. That percentage of people is not just for one thing either. That is across the board, everything that causes listeria. The list is pretty long too, and includes but is not limited to raw or under cooked meat, fowl (chicken or other birds), and fish, soft cheeses, deli meat, raw fruits and vegetables (yes that's right, fruit and vegetables) , ice cream, milk products such as sour cream, and yeast products such as bread or beer. There are more, but most people don't eat flowers, mold, wood, or some of the other natural breeding grounds of listeria.
It sounds like listeria is everywhere then, and if that's the case shouldn't more people get it? Plus, why do doctors only recommend not eating sandwich meat, soft cheese, red meats, and a few others? Because of the super slim chance of catching it, the fact that you need the important nutrients in fruit veggies and dairy, and how hard it is to grow on its own. According to several extensive studies conducted in the mid 2000's by Johns Hopkins, The CDC, and the WHO, the pregnant woman's body is the prime incubator for Listeria, resulting in an increase of your chances from 7 out of 1 MILLION to 8.2 out of 1 MILLION. That is such a small chance that it in mathematics it isn't even big enough to be stated for any other report. The only exception is women of Hispanic Descent. Something about their genetics brings their chances up to a whopping 25 out of every 1 MILLION or 1 out of every 40,000. Which is still statistically very small, but almost 3 times the risk of non Hispanic Women.
Once you get past the listeria debate, the second thing that keeps many women from enjoying these foods is mercury content in fish and other seafood. Mercury is definitely bad for you, pregnant or not. However when you are pregnant you pass along mercury to your baby who can't process it out as fast as you can. Some women are told not to eat seafood at all to avoid the risk, and there has long been a belief that none of the nutrition of fish is passed along to the baby.
However, in 2004, the FDA in conjunction with the EPA sponsored a study to decide just how much of this was true. The results can be culminated into the statement released by them
"Fish and shellfish are an important part of a healthy diet. Fish and shellfish contain high-quality protein and other essential nutrients, are low in saturated fat, and contain omega-3 fatty acids. A well-balanced diet that includes a variety of fish and shellfish can contribute to heart health and children's proper growth and development. So, women and young children in particular should include fish or shellfish in their diets due to the many nutritional benefits."
The report goes on to explain in great detail the benefits, and includes a list of how to keep up with your mercury content based on how much seafood you eat. The list is all over the internet, but a good copy can by found here along with information on the EPA's findings.
9. Alcohol?
How is this even on the list? Everyone knows alcohol is bad for mommies and babies right? Well, not entirely. Alcohol consumed in large quantities during pregnancy does lead to bad things. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, genetic deformities, miscarriages, still birth's, and many more things come from that. However what about alcohol consumed on a moderate or minimal level?
Well a study sponsored by the CDC and carried out by a research institute in Denmark concluded that women who drink 1-2 drinks per month of low alcoholic beverages like beer are at very low risk of causing pregnancy complications (less than 10%), and furthermore they actually encourage drinking one glass of wine per week. Results from the study found that children of moms who drank wine during their pregnancy were calmer, and showed a better state of emotional stability than children of moms who did not drink wine. On top of that, when breastfeeding, having a beer or a small quantity of other alcoholic beverage is recommended by many doctors and health organizations. The calming effect of alcohol helps new mothers breastfeed, and in small doses mommy's body does not pass any alcohol on to baby.
10. You are eating for two.
My wife uses this excuse all the time. "I'm eating for two now", or "The baby is hungry", is what she'll say to me. To which I've learned to just laugh at, but the truth is that eating for two is actually really unhealthy for you. Which means that this one is indeed false.
According to the National Women's Health Center, Pregnant Women should take in an additional 300 calories per day every day, over the course of their pregnancy. That works out to be 88200 calories over the course of an average pregnancy. A pound of body fat is calculated at 3500 calories, which works out to be 25.2 pounds total gained. Doctors give a range of 25-35 pounds as the normal target weight gain, which means that you can actually eat up to 417 calories extra per day. If you were eating for two that would mean you would intake an extra 2000 calories per day on average, resulting in a weight gain of 96 pounds over the course of a 9 month pregnancy. So you aren't eating for two, not even close to it. If you do, then you are doing way more damage to your body and your baby than you are good.
Bonus: Decaf coffee.
This isn't exactly a pregnancy myth, but my wife had some questions about decaf coffee that kind of go along here with the rest of the baby stuff. Caffeine is a big deal to have to cut back on. For many people it takes 3 or 4 cups of coffee just to make through the work day. Which is fine if you are not pregnant, but as I've already discussed that much coffee alone starts to get into the danger zone for pregnant women. Many people have considered swapping out one or most of their caffeinated drinks for decaf during the day as an alternative. Decaffeinated drinks do still contain some caffeine, but it often times is enough to have a psychological affect on the brain to keep us going. However, unknown to many people, decaffeinated coffee is much worse for you than the caffeine it's stronger brother contains.
The decaffeinated coffee itself is bad. It is made with different type of bean called Robusta, which has a stronger taste than caffeinated coffee. (this is to make up somewhat for the caffeine being gone, thus affecting the "coffee" flavor). Robusta is a coffee bean that has a high fat content, which over time does things like raise cholesterol, promote fat storage and proliferation, and raise blood pressure. A study done at Piedmont-Mercer Center for Health and Learning (in Atlanta) found that in just one month of replacing regular coffee with Decaf, participants had 18% higher levels of cholesterol, and 8% higher levels of blood pressure. They found that the longer the study went on the farther the problem compounded, and they actually stopped it early for fear they were going to cause participants to have sever negative health repercussions like a heart attack or stroke. That isn't the only negative effect either.
There are two ways to make decaf coffee. The first is the Swiss Water method. All you do is soak the beans in water, which draws out the caffeine, but this also draws out flavor as well. It's safer, but tastes worse, so the most common method is called the Direct Method. This works by steaming beans before spraying them with dichloromethane or ethyl acetate. If natural ethyl acetate is used, then all is well, but if dichloromethane or synthetic ethyl acetate are used then all is not well. Both are known carcinogens that in high doses are known cancer causing factors in adults. One cup of coffee won't do it, but years of daily habitual coffee drinking can as much as quadruple your chances of certain cancers in the stomach, colon, and prostate (in men).
Finally, one last adverse affect of decaf coffee is an above average level of acidity. Over time this extra acid leads to greater cases of heartburn, gastric ulcers, acid reflux, and general stomach discomfort. So, with that, I would strongly suggest that anyone considering replacing your regular coffee intake with decaf to just not do it.
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