big belly, big baby

... and other enduring pregnancy and childbirth myths

I was about halfway through my Thai beef salad when a woman stopped to admire my belly. “You must be having a boy,” she said. I told her I was; we knew from the ultrasound and amniocentesis. “Those boy babies love meat,” she explained. I agreed, not bothering to mention that when I was pregnant with my daughter, I could have packed away six pork chops and a standing rib roast before lunchtime if my conscience had allowed it.
    And so continued another pregnancy myth — to match the scores of others in circulation. Guessing your baby’s sex based on your appetite, skin tone, belly shape or whether you are carrying “high” or “low” is as accurate as flipping a coin, but that won’t stop the endless speculation.
    Fortunately, most “folk wisdom” of this kind is harmless. But to set the record straight, we decided to sort out some misconceptions with the help of two experts: obstetricians Michael D. Benson, M.D., author of Pregnancy Myths: An Obstetrician Demystifies Pregnancy From Conception to Birth (Marlowe & Co., 1995); and Graig W. Smith, M.D., author of Common Pregnancy Myths: Fact or Folklore? (Woodview Publishing, 1998).

MYTH  The over-the-counter drug you took before you knew you were pregnant is likely to cause a birth defect.
REALITY   The odds are in your favor here. “Though [the effects of] a lot of drugs are unknown, the list of drugs we know to be harmful is fairly short,” says Smith. Also, timing plays a big role: For the first three weeks after conception, almost anything questionable you do has an “all-or-nothing” effect. That is, either it does no harm to the fetus or — far less often — it causes a miscarriage. To be on the safe side, though, find out what’s safe before you take anything — or, even better, before you get pregnant. Also, at your first prenatal checkup, mention anything you’ve taken. Then relax. You’ll need that neurotic energy to obsess over nursery colors and baby names.
REALITY CHECK  The rules change after five weeks
gestation, especially during the first trimester. Then, virtually anything that wouldn’t
pass muster at a Buddhist monastery should be cleared by your physician. But don’t be afraid to take drugs if they’re medically necessary and approved by your doctor.

MYTH  You risk inducing a miscarriage if you a) exercise strenuously; b) lift heavy objects; or c) engage in any physical activity you find remotely enjoyable.
REALITY   “People do not cause miscarriages,” says Smith. “At conception, certain genetic and hormonal events determine whether a pregnancy will be lost or continued, and normal activity has nothing to do with this.”