Old Wives Tales, Myths and Superstitions About Conceiving and Pregnancy

Old wives tales are something every women who is trying to get pregnant, is pregnant or just had a baby, has heard. These tale's come from older generations often passed down orally in little tidbits of knowledge. Whether there is truth to old wives tales, myths and superstitions about conception and pregnancy is debatable. What is undeniable is that you either have or will hear an old wives tale about conception or pregnancy.

During my pregnancies I heard quite a few. Some were odd, some were funny, some of the old wives tales seemed extremely out there but that didn't stop me from listening and appreciating these words of wisdom. Here are a few of my favorite old wives tales that were told to me during my pregnancies.

"Place a hammer under your bed to conceive a boy or a pink ribbon under your bed to conceive a girl."
I try not to look under my bed too often. No one wants to know what's under there so I did not take this myth to heart. Since I have two boys it does make me wonder if there is a hammer somewhere under there.

"While pregnant don't raise your arms above your head or the umbilical cord will wrap around the babies neck."
This has got to be among the scariest old wives tale I had heard. Not only was I worried about everything else associated with pregnancy but now I had to worry about raising my arms above my head. That would mean not washing my hair, no reaching for things out of the cupboard or any of the other things I would do on a normal basis. I'm not sure how this myth came about but it is certainly not true.

"If you are craving sweet food like chocolate, you're carrying a girl. If you are craving sour food or non-sweet foods then you have a little boy inside."
I had different cravings for each pregnancies. My first pregnancy had me craving chocolate milk, red delicious apples and apple juice. Sweet food appealed to me but I could also eat a whole jar of green olives with pimento's and then consider drinking the olive juice. I was pregnant with a boy for that pregnancy. During the second pregnancy my cravings changed drastically. All I wanted to eat was medium rare steak, grilled and loaded with fried onions. It turned out there was actually a scientific reason for my cravings during the second pregnancy. My body was craving an essential vitamin; Iron. I was anemic during my second pregnancy and was prescribed iron pills. I still wanted steak and onions though. I had a boy for the second pregnancy also so I cannot say if this old wives tale is true or a myth.

Other old wives tales, myths and superstitions heard during my pregnancies were...

"Carrying high, it's a girl. Carrying low, it's a boy."
I did carry low for both of my boys but I was also told I had birthing hips, whatever that is supposed to mean.

"If your face is gaining weight and you get acne, you are carrying a girl."
I have been struggling with acne since I was a teenager. As an adult I get even worse acne during my time of the month. When I was pregnant and my hormones went crazy, the acne did too. I didn't have a girl.

Most of these are just silly old wives tales, myths and/or superstitions. They are passed down from generation to generation, sometimes in seriousness and sometimes in fun. If you hear an old wives tale that concerns you, talk your doctor to get a professional's opinion. Otherwise, have fun trying to conceive or trying to figure out if the bun in the oven is a boy or a girl.