Key Takeaways
Ah , pregnancy . It ’s such a glorious , if uncomfortable and often un - private time . From the second a fair sex commence pregnant , everyone is asking her personal questions : " What will you have ? How big ? When ? Will you require acesarean surgical incision ? What will you name him or her ? Breast or bottle ? " For every interrogative ask , there ’s generally an vox populi to follow because nothing bestow out theories and unlimited asseveration quite like gestation . Although some of the advice and sentiments are unasked and plaguey ( Do n’t like the baby name I pick out ? in force thing it ’s not your tike ! ) , old wife ' taradiddle do add together a mess of color and fun to any pregnancy .
Sometimes , they do reverse out to be correct . For case , if you ever had heartburn while expecting , chances are good that someone proclaimed that your tyke would go in the globe with a full head of hairsbreadth . To the unfeigned surprisal of researcher , there does appear to be a significant connectedness between the two – pregnancy hormones affect both heartburn and foetal hair growth [ source : Costigan et al . ] . Nevertheless , most women are going to suffer through at least some spirit level of heartburn , regardless of whether their tyke descend out as bald as Charlie Brown or not .
Despite that check , most other pregnancy prognostications do n’t have any test copy to back them up . Here are 10 you should take with a grain of salinity .
10: The Ring Test
This former wives ' tale operates on the theory that an unborn child can exert some sort of control over objects hold up outside the womb . Perhaps it ’s teeny - tiny telekinesis ? Anyway , the " run " can be performed with awedding ring , pin or needle tied to a string or filament of hair . Mama - to - be then lies on her back ( clew dirty laugh about how that ’s how she got into this mess in the first place ) and someone dangles the ladened yarn over her belly . If it swing in a round direction , she ’s have a girl . If it go side to side , it ’s a son .
Herein lie my main issue with this exercise . It ’s really easy to manipulate the train , unconsciously or not , to achieve a particular gender solution . ( It ’s call off theideomotor effect . ) As hole - fill as this particular theory is , it ’s still a harmless way to revel in the delight of impendingmotherhood – and can be a play baby exhibitioner game . Just do n’t go screwball buying pinkish or blue baby swag free-base on the results !
9: The Full Moon Phenomenon
heavenly bodies are often credited with causing a mixture of earthly phenomenon . Some are plausible and others are long shots , at best . The belief thatmore babies are born during full moonshas been ferociously guarded by and perpetuated by generations of cleaning woman , despite the fact that there is zero grounds to support it . In fact , many study have been done in an effort to leaven this theory , with most result either inconclusive or in direct opposition . For instance , one scientific examination of five year ' Charles Frederick Worth of birth andmoon phasesin North Carolina found " no predictable influence of the lunar cycle on deliveries or complications " [ source : Arliss et al ] .
Since the moon is accredit with everything from relieve oneself people go crazy to produce full - fledged werewolf , researcher conjecture that the origins of the baby task - Sun Myung Moon connexion go back many hundred , when people thought there was a connecter between women ’s fertility and lunar cycles [ root : Duke Medicine ] . But we know well now , do n’t we ?
8: Conception Position
A lot of people maintain boundaries when it comes to sharing intimate sexual details with kinsfolk and friends … until a baby has been latterly conceived , that is ! Upon learning that a friend was meaning , I carry my joyousness and ask the requisite , " What do you think you ’re have got ? " doubt . Her husband mop up up , " I know it ’s a boy because I was on top the whole sentence . " TMI , correct ? It was just a visual that I – and plausibly no one else within earshot – really needed .
According to century - old folklore , missional position ups your odds of conceive a male child and woman - on - top yields more of the sugar - and - spice up - and - everything - nice variety of babe . To engagement , however , research has not been able to formalize this superstitious notion . In fact , the only thing that really makes an impact on babe ’s gender is whether or not the sperm cell that crosses the finish line features an X or Y chromosome [ source : Adams ] .
Many experts theorize that deeply permeate positions , like the missionary spatial relation , are more likely to ensue in pregnancy . Why ? Because the member , and the termination sperm , are that much closer to the cervix , so less swimming is required to arrive at the egg for fertilization [ source : Genesis OB / GYN ] . In fact , the charwoman - on - top position is less likely to leave in gestation of any gender because the " boy " have to work hard when swimming upstream [ source : Mann ] . For the record , I have three boy and we … expect , that ’s none of your darn clientele . locomote on !
7: Certain Foods Cause Labor
It ’s ruffianly enough to navigate during the requisite nine month , so one min past a woman ’s due date can turn even the happiest of mother - to - be into the raging , get - this - baby - out - of - me - now sort . When such a stage of despair sets in , many women turn to so - send for " labor - induce " food . Spicy selections run to top the list of democratic options . In fact , a research found that 10.9 pct of adult female surveyed turn to piquante cuisine in an feat to make labor [ source : Chaudhry et al ] . Although this approach typically ca n’t pain , there ’s little evidence other than rumour to back it up . In fact , experts conceive that labor is probably initiated when the foetus itself starts to develop specific hormones , over which mammy has no restraint [ source : Caldwell ] .
Still , once a special food gains a report for bringing on birthing , it tends to catch on like wildfire . One legendary dish is eggplant parmesan produced by Scalini ’s Italian Restaurant in Smyrna , Georgia . Women swear by the dish ’s ability to kick back off project , even though scientific grounds is lacking to prove that eggplant bush smothered in cheese and sauce has any influence over the induction process . " I was tardy with my 2d pregnancy with no signs of labor , " recalls my friend Cristy Daly . " I adjudicate to examine the dish and successfully went into labor a few hours later with condensation that were one second apart . We now have a Scalini ’s baby . "
6: Stay Away From Funerals
No one really want to go to funeral , but some cultures have traditionally encouraged their pregnant adult female to stay as far aside as potential from funeral , Wake Island or pretty much anything else directly related to death , for fear of causing harm to mother and/or child . mass of the Judaic faith , among others , have long been told by their elder to mind this 100 - sure-enough impression … or else [ source : Abusch - Magder ] . It ’s such an engrained part of these cultivation that many masses abide by it , despite all signs betoken to it being all outdated . You know , just in case .
Rationally speaking , many traditionalists think less in the medical prognosis of someearthbound ghostcausing hurt than of the trauma of a sad scenario on the baby . Funerals and related event are just seen as too trying and emotionally jarring for pregnant adult female , which is probably the rightful ground why this unofficial decree was made popular so long ago . ( For the record , pregnant women serve funerals is not veto by Jewish practice of law [ source : Moss ] . ) So , rather than miss a loved ones ' memorial or burial out of fearfulness of the unknown , it ’s credibly honorable to consult your physician to ascertain if the subsequent focus is doable enough to keep you and your babe good and snug .
5: Super Sick? Break Out The Pink
Ye olde narration would have us believe that women who know extreme nausea are carrying a babe of the sugar - and - spice variety [ source : Saltiel ] . With my first gestation , I was a tiny fleck queasy . Boy No.1 was born . With my 2nd child , the nausea ramped up importantly for the firsttrimester . Boy No . 2 came some time later , to the great surprise of the woman all around me . My third pregnancy was trademarked by nearly nine months of hideousnausea , throughout which I was hem in by well - meaning the great unwashed who exclaimed over the certainty of an at hand girl . Kenny was born in all his male nimbus , and we have n’t seem back since .
For everyone who share a similar taradiddle , there ’s someone who vehemently believes the opposite , which is all part of the fun . Interestingly , some research has signal that a severe adaptation of morning unwellness hollo hyperemesis gravidarum is more commonly experienced by mothers carrying girls , but it is still very potential to have serious sickness while anticipate a boy [ reference : Watson ] . For the disk , hyperemesis gravidarum is the same term that the Duchess of Cambridge was hospitalise for during her first maternity , and she afterwards gave birth to the future King of England [ source : Campbell ] .
4: “Carry” On
Whether you have a big bulbous venter or an itsy - bitsy pooch , someone is bind to volunteer their interpretation about how you are " comport " as it relates togender . This innocuous belief dates back to old English folklore [ source : McCoy ] . However , the detail are fuzzy and often self-contradictory . For example , some women will trust up and down that girls are carried gamy and boy low , with many others claiming just the opposite . The same inconsistency goes for whether you pack in one big swelling like a basketball , or evenly all around .
Curious researchers put 104 fraught women to the test and asked them to think their shaver ’s sexuality base on these and other belief , with the resultant being that women are not " good soothsayer " of their baby ’s sexual activity . The research worker also found that the " fetal sexuality was not systematically related to the shape of the fair sex ’s abdomen " [ generator : Perry et al ] . 50/50 odds are still pretty secure , though , so guess away !
3: Diet and Birthmarks
Birthmarksrun the gamut : big , trivial , much secret or conspicuously placed . One of the most popular nevus - related erstwhile married woman ' story lends much charming powers to the food that a mother - to - be eats , or even those she simply lust . Legend has it that rust too many of a certain type of food , such as hemangioma simplex , will cause a similarly - shaped birthmark to pop up on your baby . Other , even more far - fetched variation of this lore importune that if a mother simply crave a food for thought and then extend to a part of her body , her tiddler will be born with a marking of that shape on said organic structure part [ beginning : SanFillipo ] . If that were at all genuine , each of my kids would be sporting huge pizza and chocolate patty - shaped marking smack on their face .
Although baby can have several types of birthmark , they all tend to appear for scientific , rather than superstitious reasons . Hemangiomasare the most common , and hap when a cluster of blood vas grow beneath the cutis . As a resultant role , they are typically red or purple in colour and slicing over time . The source of the strawberry mark call is likely related to the fact that superficial hemangiomas are often raised and undimmed red in color , consecrate them a similar coming into court to the beloved fruit [ informant : KidsHealth ] .
2: Like Mother, Like Daughter
I ’m as shamefaced as the next gal of spouting this normally held myth . In essence , the belief is that daughters will deliver babies exchangeable to the direction their mothers did before them . In other Bible , there is genetic influence over whether or not a fair sex delivers betimes , late or on sentence , how tumid the baby ’s weight will be and how retentive toil can be expect to last . Although I did seem to follow my mom ’s storeyed path , I acknowledge pile of other woman who did n’t , and there ’s no solid scientific evidence to supportgenerational similarity .
In fact , a baby ’s size of it can be estimated establish on the expectant woman ’s exercising weight gain , as well as the size of both parents [ origin : Adams ] . Also , due date prediction methods and labor physical process have thankfully better a good deal over the preceding few decades . So , even if you and your mum did both present betimes , it ’s quite possible that she did n’t have the correct due day of the month in the first topographic point !
1: Hands Over Head
The wombis a astonishingly noisy but protective surround for your small young lady or Mr. . So why do myths persist that claim potential fetal wound establish on the harmless effort of the mother ? I ’m talking of course of instruction , of the tarradiddle that mother raising her arms in the air will cause the umbilical cord to become wrapped around baby ’s neck . You might be a great knitter , basketball dribbler or panther , but no matter how talented your work force and arm are , they ’re only not relate to your child’sumbilical cord , and therefore ineffective to manipulate baby ’s alimentation tube .
expert insist that umbilical cord issues , which materialize in roughly one - third of all pregnancies , are the result of baby ’s uterus acrobatics while still relatively pocket-size , since they ca n’t move around all that much once they grow large and in burster [ source : BabiesOnline ] . Even if your child does go through this complication , it ’s typically identified and handled with corking achiever thanks to advanced imagination and other symptomatic tools . So throw your hired hand in the air , and wave ‘em like you just do n’t care – you wo n’t be the reason of an umbilical progeny .
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When it comes to old married woman ' taradiddle , I ’m a good sport as long as it ’s all in good fun . I do n’t come up legends of doomsday and paranoia to be as amusing , since they can unnecessarily place emphasis on an already distressed expectant mother . So predict gender all you want and conjecture about birthmarks with abandon . That hooey wo n’t ache anyone !
