9 pregnancy myths doctors would just wish you would let go of already!

Pregnant women, especially those pregnant fro the first time tend to believe in myths and age-old things passed down through the generations. But, they don't always have to be totally true. Sometimes, they even are just myths that your doctor just can't wait for you to let go of already! From myths related to morning sickness to the ones that go with the 'shape of your belly', we have all of them debunked right here!

Let's start off with morning sickness. Doctors believe morning sickness is a result of the increase of hormones in a woman's body during pregnancy. And those hormones are present throughout the day, not only in the morning. For some women, nausea associated with morning sickness can peak in the afternoon, while for others, it seems worse in the middle of the night. So, there really isn't something like 'morning' sickness to be precise. Next, the myth that morning sickness indicates the sex of your baby. Sometimes it is said that women pregnant with boys experience less morning sickness than those carrying girls.The hormone linked to morning sickness (hCG) is found to be higher in women carrying girls. Agreed. However, this does not mean women pregnant with boys are off the hook; they can still experience morning sickness to the same degree. Morning sickness can be debilitating regardless of the sex of the baby.

Coming to alcohol. This is one of those pregnancy myths you shouldn't take lightly. Some might argue the verdict is out on this issue and a glass of wine won't do any damage to an unborn fetus. However, the truth is that no amount of alcohol has been proven to be safe during pregnancy. Those who choose to drink while pregnant are risking low birth weight, preterm birth, and fetal alcohol syndrome. There is also the issue of the way an individual woman's body may process alcohol. Take this one seriously! Coming to 'women with wide hips'. For women with wide hips, one of the pregnancy myths they may have heard is that their ample hip width will benefit them during birth. Sadly, having "birthing hips" won't make the birth experience any easier. What affects the ease of ability to give birth is actually the width of the pelvis, which has no correlation to the width of hips.

Now, the myth about how raising your arms high could strangle your baby. This sounds a bit bizarre at first, but surprisingly, many women have been subject to urgent warnings not to raise their arms above their heads for fear of strangling the baby in the womb with the umbilical cord. The truth is a woman's arm movements have no bearing on a fetus, as her arms are not in any way connected to the umbilical cord. Babies often tangle themselves in their umbilical cord with resulting harm. About wanting to constantly eat...Don't kill the messenger, but you probably don't need that extra helping of fries with dinner, you know "for the baby." While pregnancy does warrant an increase of about 300 calories per day in the second and third trimesters, there is no reason to double your portions at every meal. No coffee allowed? Is caffeine completely banned for all nine months? The short answer is no, but you do need to make sure you're not ingesting more than a cup (less than 12 ounces) of coffee per day. Lastly, should a woman should avoid lunch meat, hot dogs, and soft cheeses during her pregnancy? This myth derives from the fear that she might contract listeria—and that's a completely valid concern. Listeria is a bacteria that can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, newborn death, and disabilities of the baby, while only causing flu-like symptoms (if any) in the mother. Sometimes a woman has no symptoms at all but passes the infection to the fetus unknowingly. The bacteria thrive at cold temperatures in unpasteurized food and can affect animals that may not show symptoms, resulting in the recommendation to avoid refrigerated meats and cheeses produced with them.

Well, now you know all that there is to know...at least most of it...