Pregnancy Myth Busters

Numerous pregnancy myths still prevail in India turning the beautiful and careful nine months into a bewildered and dreadful phase of life. Every morsel of food intake and each breath inhaled is judged upon and thousands of  irrational guidelines pour in from everywhere. To have a peaceful pregnancy, experts recommended that every pregnant woman should stay logical, positive, happy and should only follow the doctor's advice. Chuck down  the myths and enjoy the pregnancy phase. 

Difficult to pen down all myths but the most common ones are listed below:

Myth#1: Consuming ghee (clarified butter) aids in normal delivery

Fact: Had it been the case, ghee would have surpassed gold's price. Ghee doesn't help to smooth uterus lining. Ghee is purely fat. A teaspoon of ghee per day if ever consumed is more than enough. Also, there is no scientific proof that ghee helps to ease pain of joints. Many pregnant ladies who consume ghee still have backache and joint pains. So please use ghee sparingly in your food. Excess ghee will only cause discomfort, difficult labour and obesity. From my experience, I never had ghee but still had normal delivery with just two hours of intense labour pain.[1]

Myth#2: Avoid cheese

Fact: When the raging pregnancy hormones demand a slice of pizza but the mind stays in dilemma as pizza has the cheese topping, well good news, one can have pizza and definitely cheese. In fact, if it suits the digestive system, one can have cheddar and cottage cheese(paneer) as these considered good source of protein. 

Only soft cheese, blue cheese and goat’s cheese are harmful as they have listeria bacteria which can cause miscarriage. So for cheese lovers, do not experiment new ones during pregnancy. [2]

Myth#3: Do not eat non-vegetarian food

Fact: Non-vegetarian food is very good source of protein.

One can definitely have eggs, chicken, mutton and fish (with exception of few fishes and seafood). Everything should be freshly prepared and should not be contaminated or stale as stomach becomes very sensitive during pregnancy for some.

Myth#4: Avoid panipuris, chat and other outside food

Fact: Definitely avoid food from filthy roadside stalls.  Messing with digestive system during pregnancy may have harmful effect on baby. Always advisable to prepare at home.Buy the puri/golgappe pack and prepare everything at home. There are readily available panipuri masala and panipuri packs by haldiram.

Myth#5: No Pineapple and Raw Papayas:

Fact: I never had papaya or pineapple during pregnancy. 

Pineapple: It has Bromelain, a type of proteolytic enzyme that helps to soften the cervix which eases the labour. Well I had pineapple and pineapple juice in large quantity in nineth month to induce labour and I was in labour after few days. So maybe true.

Raw Papaya: Unripe Papaya is not considered safe as it had latex which triggers uterine contractions and prepares body for delivery. 

One can have ripe papaya and pineapple in moderation but I believe it's better to avoid pineapple and papaya for nine months.

Myth#6:Caffeine causes deformation:

Fact: High amount of caffeine can cross placenta and may cause harm to baby. Caffeine can be found in coffee, tea and cold drinks mainly. But a cup of coffee per day should be ok.

Pregnant women should have no more than 200mg of caffeine a day. This is equal to about 2 cups of instant coffee or 4 cups of tea or 5 cans of cola per day. So do make sure you are consuming way less than 200mg caffeine per day.[3]

Myth#7: Stay away from WiFi:

Fact: Many women stay away from WiFi assuming radiations are harmful for foetus. Radiations are everywhere.I did use WiFi and so has many pregnant moms. No study has proved this myth so far. One can try to minimize but completely stopping it makes no sense.

Myth#8: Baby kicks every 2 hours:

Fact: Some babies kick a lot, some rarely kick. Do not panic if your baby doesn't kick a lot. Try and observe the pattern. There can be minor deviation but some movement should always be there like light flutters, hiccups or kicks. For any deviation, the movements can be traced by consuming something cold or sweet and lying down.

Myth#9: Consuming coconut water or saffron milk to have fair babies:

Fact: This myth tops my hate-list. No amount of any food will help you have a fair baby. Only genes decide your baby’s colour. Nothing can change the Mother Nature's will.

There are lots of myths surrounding gender of baby. Will have another blog for it! 
Put more myth busters in comments. For now, hope the above pointers puts the mind at ease. Stay Healthy,Stay Happy!

References:
[1] http://www.momjunction.com/articles/safe-eat-ghee-pregnancy_0015804/
[2] http://www.babycentre.co.uk/x3175/is-it-safe-to-eat-cheese-during-pregnancy
[3] http://americanpregnancy.org/pregnancy-health/caffeine-during-pregnancy/