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Women still believe pregnancy myths

By Elizabeth Heathcote on Tuesday 8 September 2009

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Marie Claire world: pregnancy

Pregnant women are sticking with old wives tales, such as eating hot curry or drinking raspberry leaf tea to bring on labour, despite no evidence that these work.

As many as one in eight women believe myths such as having a bump mostly to the front means you are carrying a boy, or that drinking coffee when pregnant can damage the baby's skin.

A survey by the charity Tommy's and Johnson's Baby found that while these old beliefs continue, women are confused about which foods have been medically shown to be unsafe to eat during pregnancy, says the Mail.

For example, 62% of pregnant women are unsure which cheeses are unsafe, and more than half are unclear which fish to avoid. Guidelines suggest pregnant women should avoid soft and blue cheeses, and with fish should avoid marlin, shark and swordfish, and limit the amount of tuna and oily fish.

'Sometimes it's difficult to know what information is best to follow,' said the model Penny Lancaster Stewart, who is supporting the Tommy's Let's Talk Baby information campaign, 'There are so many old wives' tales on pregnancy out there.'

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