Pregnancy myths busted
What’s fact and what’s fiction when it comes to pregnancy advice? We help dispel the myths
From the minute you start trying to conceive you’d be forgiven for suddenly realising there’s so much stuff you didn’t know you needed to know about pregnancy and motherhood. It was bad enough when it was just pregnancy books, but the plethora of information online it can overload your mind.
There are a lot of pregnancy myths out there that it’s worth knowing to avoid.
1. You only get pregnant on day 14 of your cycle
Unless you are as regular as clockwork, this is not the case. Women ovulate on different days of the month. If you are unsure of your optimum time, try an ovulation kit which will show you the most likely days of conceiving.
2. Once pregnant, you can eat for two
A definite myth as it can be so hard to lose the baby weight if you let too much of it pile on in pregnancy. It’s not as simple as giving birth and falling back into shape if you’ve been eating a full packet of biscuits every day for 9 months.
3. Have a drink, it won’t hurt
You’ll hear that your someone tell you that they had the odd drink in pregnancy and baby turned out just fine. Booze is generally considered a no-no because of the risk of foetal alcohol syndrome. The medical advice is clear: stay off it.
4. You’ll have to suffer sickness in silence
Not the case. There are safe and effective remedies for heartburn, nausea, diarrhoea and headaches - just check with your GP about what you can take. Also you may find something as simple as a ginger biscuit or piece of fruit may help to ease morning sickness.
5. Exercise is a no-no
Absolutely not. As long as it’s not bungee jumping or leaping out of a plane, there’s no reason why you can’t keep on swimming, running and going to the gym - just take advice from your doctor or midwife - and to your body.