7 Pregnancy Myths That Are Not True

Being pregnant is already hard. Worrying about the health of your baby, your own health, and seeing your body transform into a whole different figure can really be a challenge.

As if those weren’t enough, there are also a lot of myths out there that can sometimes overwhelm expectant mothers. With that in mind, here are nine pregnancy myths that doctors want you to ignore.

1. Morning sickness happens only in the morning

Since the term had been used for decades, then it must be true, right? Wrong. The nauseous feeling pregnant women may have during their first trimester of pregnancy is a result of the increased hormones in their body and could happen throughout the day, not only in the morning.

2. Wide hips make birth easier

The ease of giving birth have nothing to do about wide hips (or “birthing hips”) but with the width of the pelvis.

3. Lifting your arms above your head will strangle the baby

The arms are not in any way connected to the umbilical cord, so raising arms above your head will not strangle the baby in any way.

4. You need to eat for two

Although pregnant women should increase their food intake in the second and third trimesters, there is no reason to double the portions at every meal.

5. No coffee allowed

Pregnant women get exhausted sometimes, so it’s certainly tempting for them to think about the help of coffee. Luckily, there’s no truth in this myth at all. However, pregnant moms should not be ingesting more than a cup (less than 12 ounces) of coffee per day since a fetus can’t process caffeine as adults can.

6. Bump shape determines if it’s a boy or girl

Many believed that if a pregnant woman is carrying high, it’s a boy. If the belly is wide, then it’s a girl. The truth is that the shape of a woman’s stomach during pregnancy has nothing to do with the gender of the baby.

7. Don’t exercise during pregnancy

Although it’s not advisable for pregnant women to have an extreme workout, light aerobic activity such as walking is completely fine. Activities that involve physical contact or have a high chance of falling should be completely avoided.