There is advice thrown at pregnant women from every direction. Sometimes it’s helpful, and other times you wish people would keep their opinions to themselves. But sometimes that advice isn’t even accurate! So we’re breaking down some of the more common pregnancy myths you might come across. 

Myth #1: You Have to Eat For Two 

I know there are times during pregnancy that we all wish this one were true but unfortunately it’s a myth. We’ve all probably heard that pregnant women are “eating for two”, but somewhere along the way we turned that into meaning we needed to up our calorie intake by double or at least a significant amount. While it’s definitely true that what you eat affects your baby, the recommended increase in calories is actually much less than you might think. The typical recommendation is no additional calories are needed in the first trimester and most women will only need about 300 extra calories per day for your second and third trimesters. 

Myth #2: Morning Sickness Occurs in the Morning

The myth of this one is right there in the name. And I bet many of you have rolled your eyes at this term after you found yourself nauseous throughout the day or vomiting at night rather than the morning. Unfortunately, according to the Cleveland Clinic morning sickness affects about 70 % of pregnant women and they can feel the effects at any time throughout the day. On the bright side, it does usually begin to improve as you enter the second trimester so hang in there! 

Myth #3: You Can Prevent Stretch Marks 

Pregnant women everywhere have spent precious dollars on various creams, oils and lotions that are marketed to prevent stretch marks. I’m sorry to say ladies, but it looks like maybe we’ve been duped. There isn’t any evidence that these creams or any other topical options will prevent stretch marks, which seems to be attributed more to genetics and how quickly your belly grows in stretch mark prone spots. However, these lotions are helpful in keeping your skin moisturized which may cut down on itchy skin from stretching so I say keep lathering! 

Myth #4: You Can Predict Baby’s Gender 

How many gender predictor “old wives tales” did you google when pregnant to see if you could make a guess about your little one? I do think there is something to be said for a woman’s intuition about her own pregnancy but the evidence tells us that those “old wives tales” aren’t as accurate as we’d like to hope. For every woman pregnant with a girl with morning sickness, you’re bound to find one who felt great the whole time! For all the mamas carrying a boy “low ” there is a baby boy who stayed tucked into his mama’s rib cage throughout the pregnancy. Unfortunately you’ll have to wait for the blood tests or ultrasound confirmations to find out this info. 

Myth #5: Most Babies Arrive on Their Due Dates 

Did you know only about 5% of women actually give birth on their due dates? So while we’re thinking of a new name for morning sickness we probably want to consider an alternative to this one as well. Some providers will refer to this date as their “guess date” to hopefully keep their patients from getting too antsy if the date goes by with no sign of a baby. Or to keep them from being too surprised when the baby makes their arrival a week early! 

These aren’t the only myths you’ll hear during your 9 months of pregnancy. Stay tuned for five more coming soon!