Fact or Fiction: Debunking the Top 7 Pregnancy Myths

Fact or Fiction: Debunking the Top 7 Pregnancy Myths

Fact or Fiction: Debunking the Top 7 Pregnancy Myths

When you're pregnant, you're likely to hear a lot of old wives' tales -- some of which can be amusing. You've probably heard this one: Carry high, it's a girl. Carry low, it's a boy. (Sure, it's silly, but our foremothers didn't have ultrasound.)

Not all pregnancy myths are entertaining, though. Some have health implications for mother or baby, while others prompt unnecessary worry. Read on for some common myths you'll be glad to get the real skinny on.

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Myth: Skip the Flu Shot

Just the opposite, says Nancy Chescheir, MD, a clinical professor of maternal/fetal medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and contributor to Your Pregnancy and Childbirth: Month to Month, an American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) book. "Flu vaccination is very important."

Some pregnant women worry the vaccine might give them the flu. Others fret that preservatives in the vaccine may hurt their unborn baby. But a flu injection won't give women the flu, Chescheir says, nor is there any evidence that flu vaccine harms fetuses.

Instead, a flu shot can be a lifesaver for mother and baby, she says. Pregnancy alters a woman's immune system, heart, and lungs, making her more vulnerable to getting a severe case of flu. "Women who are pregnant and come down with the flu do not tolerate that well and have a much higher risk of becoming extremely sick and, in fact, have a higher risk of dying from the flu than the general population," Chescheir says.

But get the flu shot (containing killed virus), not the nasal spray vaccine (containing weakened, live virus). And if you're worried about preservatives, seek out a thimerosal-free flu shot. 

Myth: You're Eating for Two

Helping yourself to double servings of potato salad or ice cream? Not so fast. Yes, you're eating for two -- but that doesn't mean two of you.

If a woman weighs a normal amount before pregnancy, she needs an average of only 300 extra calories per day to promote her baby's growth, according to ACOG. That's roughly the number of calories in a glass of skim milk and half a sandwich. A woman of normal weight should gain 25 to 35 pounds during pregnancy -- or less, if she's heavy.

When women pack on too many pregnancy pounds, they often can't drop all of it after birth. With each following pregnancy, they might become even heavier, Chescheir says. Further, women who gain more than 50 pounds when they're carrying just one child have a higher risk of a cesarean section or a difficult vaginal birth, Chescheir says. And babies who are "overgrown" at birth, she says, "have an increased risk of being obese adults."