Debunking Pregnancy Myths | Sonoma County Maternity Photographer

5 pregnancy myths that I continue to hear from my patients

With the abundance of information available with a simple Google search, I find it rather humorous that there are certain pregnancy myths that I routinely hear from my patients and maternity photography clients. I’m not sure where these myths came from, but I believe they are old wives tales that have been passed down from generation to generation, and they are sort of fun to believe. In all of my years of nursing and being a Sonoma County Maternity Photographer, the list of myths continues to grow, but I will talk about 5 of the most common ones I hear.

1. “I’m eating for two”: False! Please don’t do this; gaining too much weight in pregnancy can bring on a host of problems. The recommended caloric increase is between 200 and 400 calories per day, depending on your pre-pregnancy weight. Recommended weight gain for a woman with a normal BMI is 25-35lbs.
2. “Avoiding Exercise is Safer”: Staying active is the best prescription for pregnant and non-pregnant people. Keep this general rule in mind when exercising during pregnancy; keep doing whichever activities you were doing before you were pregnant. For example, if you were doing Pilates everyday before, don’t start CrossFit now. If you were walking 3 miles a day pre-pregnancy, don’t start a running program. Simple, right?
3. “My baby must have a lot of hair because I have heartburn”: This is probably the pregnancy myth I hear most often. I truly wish heartburn meant something during pregnancy because so many women suffer from it. But heartburn and the amount of hair your baby has are not correlated. Trust me, I had THE WORST heartburn with all three of my pregnancies, and all three of my babies had just the tiniest bit of hair.
4. “Morning Sickness Only Happens in the Morning”: Wouldn’t this be fabulous? Ask any woman who has suffered from nausea during pregnancy; it happens whenever it wants to. I was sick 24 hours a day the entire 39 weeks of each of my pregnancies. It was miserable to say the least.
5. “I must be having a boy because I’m carrying my baby in the front”: You can’t predict the gender of your baby based on the shape of your tummy.

Hi there, I’m Michelle; I’m a labor and delivery nurse and a Sonoma County Maternity Photographer. I’d love to document your growing baby bump and answer your pregnancy questions. I hope this post was helpful in making your feel informed about your pregnancy with accurate information.

To book maternity pictures with me, contact me here.