Reading through a pregnancy manual I came across some of these ancient wives’ tales and remembered my Guatemalan abuelita (tiny grandma) waving this crystal thing over my mom’s pregnant belly twenty two years ago.   My mom said it was hogwash, but hey, abuelita was right when my baby sister popped out two months later.  So now I wonder, is there any truth to some of these pregnancy myths?

 

*Cold feet indicate a boy.  (If that’s the case, I’m always having a boy.)

*You need calcium if you crave ice cream.  (I totally tried this one with my last doctor when I gained too much weight in the second trimester.  She told me to take my prenatals and cut out the Ben and Jerry’s.  Bummer.  When is pregnancy supposed to get fun exactly?)

*Dangling a wedding ring over your tummy determines the sex of your baby.  (This one is way off!  We all know it must be a Guatemalan crystal in order to be effective.)

*If you sweat a lot, it’s a girl.

*Stretching your arms over your head can cause the umbilical cord to wrap around the baby’s neck.  (Not sure how the puppet strings work on that one, but moving along…)

*Craving greasy food means labor will be short.  (Maybe this is supposed to make the baby slip out.)

*Craving spinach means you need iron. 

*Taking a bath can drown your baby.  (But they’re swimming in fluid…)

*If you see a mouse while pregnant your child will have a hairy birthmark.  (Stay away from pet stores.)

*Having a lot of heartburn means your baby will be born with a whole head of hair.  (Hair growth must cause indigestion.)

*It’s a girl if you crave orange juice.

*Your moods during pregnancy affect the mood of your fetus.  (Oh, help!)

*Eating berries causes red splotches on your baby’s skin.  (This is an allergic reaction babies can get when eating berries post birth.)

*Your baby will be cross-eyed if you wear heels.  (So far I have a hairy, birth-marked, cross-eyed, manic-depressive baby with a cord around his/her neck.)

*If you carry in front, it’s a boy.  If you carry around the middle, it’s a girl.

*Your nose will widen if you’re having a girl, as will your face.  (Jessica Alba’s face did get big with her daughter.)

*Having sex can stimulate labor.  (This one has truth to it and is fun to try.  So at 38 weeks, go for it, make that baby happen!)

 I have to say, admittedly, I believe some of these.  I craved orange juice with my daughter and this pregnancy is different.  The whole ultra sound invention ruined the fun of all these wives tales for a large part of the population.  But for my husband and I, we play the waiting game and guess.  That’s when these myths are fun to read and chuckle at.  Just as long as they don’t make you hyperventilate with anxiety and worry.  (I think that’s what abuelitas secretly want us to do!)