Busting Pregnancy Myths
There are plenty of pregnancy myths out there and many mothers just don't know which ones to believe. Jessica Hartshorn, Senior Lifestyle Editor for American Baby Magazine looked into five of those urban belly legends and has the scoop on which ones are fact and which ones are fiction.
The first myth on the list says a fetal heart rate above 140 means you're having a girl and a slower rate means a boy is coming. This is not true. It's normal for a baby's heart rate to fluctuate between 110 and 160 beats per minute. Don't expect it to reveal anything other than the fact that your little bundle is doing just fine.
Myth two is raising your arms wraps the umbilical cord around the baby's neck. There is no connection between your arms and the umbilical cord. Some experts say this untruth might have come from pregnant women using it as an excuse to get out of chores.
Myth number three might be the most common. If a pregnant women carries the baby high or wide it's a girl. If the belly is low and narrow it's a boy. Women carry pregnancy different, but the shape of the expectant belly has nothing to do with the baby's gender. How you carry is more about the size of your torso and the position of the fetus.
If you're having heartburn while pregnant you're baby will be hairy is one myth that might actually be true. Johns Hopkins found that 82% of the time, when women reported moderate heartburn, they had babies with a lot of hair, meanwhile the majority of heartburn free women gave birth to baldies. The theory is that estrogen and progesterone, the pregnancy hormones that stimulate newborn hair, also relax the sphincter allowing stomach acid to back up into the esophagus, allowing stomach acid to back up into the esophagus.
Myth number five says Drano crystals can tell a baby's sex. This is not true and should not be attempted by pregnant women. The declogger contains strong chemicals and inhaling the fumes could make you sick.
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