True or False? Common Pregnancy Myths

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When you’re pregnant, especially for the first time, it’s hard to make sense of all the advice out there. You want to do everything right for the health of your baby, but you also want to counterbalance friends and family members who may be quick with advice or guidance. Should you really avoid hot tubs when you’re pregnant? What about exercise or coloring your hair? Pamela Hetrick, CNM has all the answers, and explains what is true and when to have a good laugh.

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Pete Kenworthy
I remember the times that my wife was pregnant. Right? We were trying to figure out what she was going to have. Right? Like did carrying the baby a certain way mean a boy or a girl? Did the amount of weight she gained mean anything? Now, during the pregnancy, especially that first one, right, especially the first kid, you’ll believe almost anything that you hear.

Macie Jepson
I recall trying almost anything we heard. I mean, from the needle over the wrist…have you ever heard of that one? I don’t even remember if it’s circle (boy), whatever. But here’s the thing I carried my kids completely differently. And in the long run we had two girls. So, I look at those myths, if you’ll call them, as a lot of fun, but that’s about it.

Pete Kenworthy
That’s right. Yeah. But, and, but the question is, part of my question, I guess, is where did these stories come from? Right? I mean, there has to be some sliver of truth, some something in there, some sort of science behind all these anecdotes.

Macie Jepson
Hi everybody. I’m Macie Jepson.

Pete Kenworthy
And I’m Pete Kenworthy. And this is Healthy@UH. Joining us today is Certified Nurse Midwife, Pamela Hetrick with University Hospitals in Cleveland. Pam, thanks for being with us.

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
You’re welcome. It’s a pleasure.

Pete Kenworthy
Let’s start with this. Can you predict if you’re having a boy or a girl based on whether you’re carrying the baby high or low, all out in front, like a basketball or equally distributed? And where did all this come from?

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
That’s a really good question. So, I’m going to start out by saying, no, you can’t predict, you can’t predict much with the sex of the baby. I think it was probably, it’s been around longer than I’ve been a midwife or a human. And I would probably say, you know, pregnancy is so exciting, and everybody wants to get involved. So, one of the easier things to do in the beginning is say, oh, I think that you’re having this. Fifty percent of the time you’re right and you are a rockstar, and fifty percent of the time you’re wrong. But it gives people connection. It gives people a lot of fun. I mean, now we have the big gender reveals now, some of them exciting, some of them disastrous. But, you know, no, there’s no true prediction other than really, you know, the ultrasound. Some blood work will show it, but until then, people just keep up with the wives’ tales and keep having fun and anticipation really.

Macie Jepson
It’s funny, you mentioned that it’s been around forever, because I recall like my, you know, great, great Aunt Eleanor, you know, all of the elderly people in my family wanted to touch my tummy and then they could predict something from that. It was just a crazy time. But, you know, and our daughter was, I had a difficult pregnancy. And so, there was a lot of testing with our first daughter. And I remember really paying attention to that heartbeat when I was being tested, because that seemed to mean something. Where does that come from?

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
I don’t know. But you know what’s interesting is my niece was supposed to be a boy because of the heart rate. And my sister-in-law’s obstetrician fed into that, and out came a beautiful baby girl. And I don’t know where it came from. I always say to patients, the first thing, that first time that we hear the heart rate and their face lights up, usually they’ll say to me, what’s the heart rate? And I’ll, you know, 161. Well, that’s supposed to be a boy. What do you think? And I’m like, well, I think that if you put your hand in your pocket and you flip a coin, half the time, it’s going to be heads, half the time it’s going to be tails. I’m like, I don’t know. But they trust me to feel like I am the absolute expert in this telepathic it’s a boy or girl.

Pete Kenworthy
And the myth with the heartbeat is what? Slower, it’s a boy?

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
Slower, it’s a girl. Faster, it’s a boy.

Pete Kenworthy
Okay. (Laughs)

Macie Jepson
I don’t even know what be considered fast or slow. So, they do lean toward you to set all that straight.

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
Yeah. And really in early pregnancy, when you are getting the fetal heart rate for the first time, it usually is 160 to 170. That’s just how physiologically, you know, the development of the heart is. So, most of them, when I’m listening and people out there listening, you know, think back to that first appointment, it’s usually somewhere 160 to 170, which is normal for a pregnancy that’s like 10 to 13 weeks.

Pete Kenworthy
And is that considered fast or slow?

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
That’s considered, it’s fast. It will decrease over…

Pete Kenworthy
So, everybody’s having a boy early.

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
Correct. Right.

Macie Jepson
Well, this must be true because I craved root beer floats and Starbursts, and I had two girls. There must be some science to that. Right? You crave sweet, you get a girl?

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
No. No. No.

Pete Kenworthy
Okay. So, before we move on with the predicting the sex of the baby, just to confirm, the only real way to confirm a sex of a baby is the ultrasound. Right?

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
Yeah. I mean, I would say that that’s pretty standard, safe, 19 to 20 weeks, halfway point of the pregnancy. So, it gives you something to look forward to, if you decide to find the sex of the baby. One little nugget though. I’m going to talk about a patient years ago, and 34 weeks, she came in, and she’s like, I can’t, I can’t do this anymore. I need to know the sex of my baby. And I was like, well, and she’s like, look at the ultrasound report. And I said, okay. And she said, what does it say? I said, it says gender normal. And she goes, well, what’s normal? I go the gender of the baby. She goes, but is it a boy or a girl? The great thing about ultrasounds here, if the parents do not want to know, there is no way for them or us to know other than the ultrasound tech and the physician that’s doing the ultrasound that day. Other than that, nothing comes through on the reports. So, that can be a little bit painstaking that then they have to wait another six weeks. But typically, 19 to 20 weeks is when they’re going to put that ultrasound down and be able to determine.

Macie Jepson
And even then, there are some surprises with ultrasounds, right? Hidden things.

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
Hidden things. (Laughs) I haven’t seen one be wrong in a super long time.

Macie Jepson
Okay.

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
Super long time.

Macie Jepson
Because they’re getting better, too.

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
The technology with the ultrasounds is just amazing.

Macie Jepson
All right. Well, let’s talk about some things that can be backed by science, little rapid fire here for fun. What do you think?

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
Sure.

Macie Jepson
You shouldn’t exercise when you’re pregnant.

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
So, I’m going to show my age with this because I’ll say to patients don’t think that you need to be Jane Fonda. And that was the person way back when that was always exercising. So, I always say, you know, things have changed drastically. You’ve got CrossFitters. You’ve got people who are runners. So, if you’re already doing that pre-pregnancy, we tell you to listen to your body and continue to do that. But you shouldn’t say, oh my gosh, I’m pregnant. That’s it. I’m going to the gym five days a week, and I’m going to do heavy cardio. So, everything within moderation, primarily listening to your body, but you can exercise.

Macie Jepson
All right. Having sex. Can we do that?

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
Sure. As long as your medical provider doesn’t say that there’s any restrictions. The placenta is okay. It’s a healthy part of pregnancy, if that’s what makes you happy.

Macie Jepson
Speaking of sex, if you’re overdue, will that put you into labor?

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
It can’t hurt. (Laughs) We always say, love brought the baby in; love should bring the baby out.

Macie Jepson
All right, then. So, right up until the last minute.

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
As long as your water’s not broke, you’re good to go.

Macie Jepson
All right. Don’t color your hair?

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
Oh, no. Think about hairdressers. They’re around dyes all day, every day. You’re only doing it probably every three months, maybe. So, no, totally fine to color your hair. We usually say wait until after the first trimester, but totally fine. Do it up.

Macie Jepson
Okay. How about a hot tub? Do we need to avoid that?

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
A hot tub over 101°, yes. Because remember, your baby is about a degree hotter than you are, so submerging yourself, and there was some evidence years ago that talked about the neural tube closing that there was an increased risk of neural tube defects if a mother submerged herself in a tub that was greater than 101°. So, it shouldn’t, any tub, even a tub at home, a hot tub, it shouldn’t be painful to go in. And I think everybody’s gotten in that bathtub and it’s like, oh my gosh, I can’t sit down. It’s too hot and you’re pulling your leg out. So, making sure that you’re hydrated, making sure that the temperature’s not over 101°. That even includes our tub here at Emily Burn delivery at Mac House is that we’re super specific with the temperature of the water.

Macie Jepson
What about reaching over your head? What’s that about?

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
Oh, my gosh. If I had a dime for every time a patient or a family member, mostly the mothers and the grandmothers that are coming in, So, there is a wives’ tale that if you put your hands above your head, that the cord is going to get wrapped around the baby’s neck, which is totally not true. Reaching is fine. The way that cords get wrapped around the neck is usually 20-ish weeks, the baby’s super, super active, doing somersaults. And they actually will gently get themselves with the cord around the neck. But the reassuring thing is four out of every 10 babies are born with at least one cord around their neck, and it usually doesn’t pose any problems.

Pete Kenworthy
All right. Let’s move on here to food. This is a big one. Right?

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
Yes.

Pete Kenworthy
Diet is always a big one for moms. I remember my wife was big into filet of fish. She hates it normally. Right? But it was like this craving that she had. And grape jelly toast, I think, was her other thing, like make me some toast with grape jelly on it. So, let’s hit on a few of these, what diet means. First up. You’re allowed to eat however much you want because you’re eating for two.

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
(Laughs) I-N-correct. You should not have the mentality for eating for two, because we know from literature and research that actually too much weight gain can affect pregnancy with the increased risk of a C-section, diabetes, hypertension. So, throw that, throw that right out.

Pete Kenworthy
Throw that one out the window.

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
Uh-huh.

Pete Kenworthy
How about caffeine or seafood. Safe or no?

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
A little bit of both. Of course, I’m going to tell you to eat lobster whenever you can. But everything should be done in moderation. There’s certain fish that we say absolutely not. Tilefish, swordfish, mackerel should not be consumed even in a child up to age five. But everything else in moderation is okay, as long as you’re not doing it the majority of the days of the week. Caffeine: it’s 220 milligrams a day. So, one of the things that women like to do, as soon as they find out that they’re pregnant besides exercising and thinking if it’s going to be a boy or a girl is they cut all caffeine, which actually can backfire a little bit because they’ll start to have these terrible headaches from the caffeine withdrawal. So, doesn’t matter what you do. Chocolate has caffeine in it. Tea, coffee, any kind of sodas, but totally, totally fine in moderation.

Pete Kenworthy
But there is a limit to the caffeine, right? So, if you’re normally like a three cup of coffee a day person, you need to cut back.

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
You need to cut back. Yep. So, you’re looking at the milligrams, which is 220.

Pete Kenworthy
Which nobody measures in.

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
Nobody measures in. I mean, I’m sure Starbucks…

Pete Kenworthy
What is that, a cup of coffee?

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
…is 600.

Macie Jepson
Except maybe a pregnant mom. They measure everything.

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
The pregnant, first-time moms, they will have it down to probably on some sort of periodic table.

Pete Kenworthy
That’s right. That’s right. Any other foods. What other foods should you avoid during pregnancy? And why? I’ve heard goat cheese.

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
Yeah. So, some of the cheeses that are soft and mushy. So, I always say with a smile, any cheese that’s good with a glass of red wine should probably be avoided unless it’s heated. So, if you’ve got your blue cheese, and you’re making a Buffalo chicken dip and you’re heating it up, that’s safe. But we worry about listeria. And it’s the same concern that we have with lunch meat. So, if you’re going out to Subway or Jimmy John’s, you want to have it toasted just to burn off some of that listeria, if it’s present. I would definitely not recommend getting any from like the shelf, like the Oscar Meyer stuff, because you don’t know how the refrigeration process has been. But again, you want to limit, but not restrict your lunch meat.

Macie Jepson
That kind of makes me want to limit anyway. And I’m not pregnant. Just hearing that scenario.

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
Well, yeah. You don’t know.

Pete Kenworthy
Any other foods before we leave foods?

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
Sushi. So, raw fish, I would say, if you’re getting it from somebody super reputable, you’re probably okay to indulge in that one piece that you have to have. But raw fish, raw meat. So, make sure that your steaks are cooked or your beef’s cooked at least medium. And then pork and chicken the whole way through no translucency. Everything else, you’re good to go. And it is true what you said with your wife. Stuff that people have absolutely loved, they smell it or they get it in their mouth and they don’t want anything to do with it for the rest of the pregnancy. So, it can be super interesting. So, try some things that you didn’t think that you liked prior to being pregnant.

Macie Jepson
Okay. Expand your horizons.

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
Yeah.

Macie Jepson
The whole heartburn during pregnancy and whether or not your baby’s going to have a lot of hair, I don’t, I never understood the correlation.

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
I wish I could tell you, Macie. But you will hear patients say all the time, oh, I have terrible heartburn. Or, hey, I got heartburn. Look at how hairy my baby is. I always say, my first one, I had a bad gallbladder that I didn’t know was bad during pregnancy. And he was bald. And I had never had indigestion in my life. So, I thought I was going to get this gorilla baby coming out. And he was bald. He was cute, though, but he was bald. There’s no correlation, but, you know, heartburn is a super, super common complaint of pregnancy, but it doesn’t yield that your baby’s going to be hairy.

Pete Kenworthy
Here’s one that I think has some research behind it. Playing music to your unborn child, or even maybe talking to your unborn child. There’s research behind this. Yes?

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
Yeah. Absolutely. Think about families who have, you know, four or five kids, and the newborn comes home and the house is wild and that newborn doesn’t move. Or voices, like how a baby reacts to a maternal or paternal voice. So, there’s a lot of research that reading to your baby increases not only bonding, but the baby remembers the music. It remembers the words on how mom speaks. So, absolutely, talk to your baby. I always say, talk to your baby, rub your baby. Put some nice lotion on your belly and kind of connect. But no, definitely. That’s true.

Macie Jepson
You were telling us before we even got started that most people know the sex these days. And, you know, just to wrap up, to me, I feel like that’s kind of a shame, because this is so much fun, just the game of it all and the guessing and the asking and all of that. It just is, it’s a lot of fun, even if it isn’t backed up by science.

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
Oh yeah. Gives you, it gives you something to look forward to and some excitement and some positivity in the world, which we need.

Macie Jepson
Yeah. For sure. Is there anything you wanted to add? Any wives’ tales that we didn’t cover?

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
Oh, I’ve heard lots of…I’ll tell you the two that I heard that I was kind of like, I have never heard that before. Don’t go to a funeral when you’re pregnant, because the spirits of the dead might enter your abdomen.

Pete Kenworthy
Okay.

Macie Jepson
Well, that makes perfect sense.

Pete Kenworthy
Yeah.

Macie Jepson
(Laughs)

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
And then the other one was not to take the baby, or not to take the pregnant mom to the zoo because the baby at birth might be afraid of the animals. I’m like, where do people come up with this at?

Pete Kenworthy
(Laughs) I guess the bottom line is this. Right? Anything you think might have some scientific evidence, anything you find on the internet, just talk to your provider. Right?

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
Absolutely. And go to trusted sites. We give you trusted sites to go to that aren’t going to get you down a rabbit hole that makes you so afraid. We want you to enjoy your pregnancy and have fun.

Macie Jepson
Great advice, and a lot of fun today. Pamela Hetrick, a Certified Nurse Midwife at University Hospitals in Cleveland. Thanks for joining us.

Pamela Hetrick, CNM
It’s been fun. Thank you.