The Six Biggest Pregnancy Myths
In defense of sushi, cheese, hair dye — and common sense.
by L.J. Williamson
January 28, 2008
Some of the most dire warnings American women hear are about drinking, which jibes perfectly with our country's problematic relationship with alcohol. Yet in most European countries, pregnant women aren't given the hard-and-fast total abstention rules that we are in the U.S. — and they never had prohibition, either. Typically, pregnant women in France, Italy, Germany, and other European countries aren't advised to eliminate alcohol entirely, but to simply limit consumption to no more than one drink per day.
"In this case, the Europeans are probably righter than we are," Dr. Broder says. "The research simply hasn't proven harm from less than two drinks per day." Yet because there's a lack of consensus on a "safe" level of alcohol consumption, the message pregnant American women most often hear is that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption.
"American women and doctors tend to say if there's any risk at all, then why take a risk, but that's based on a misunderstanding of what 'risk' is," says Dr. Broder. "There's nothing that is totally without risk. For example, even lying in bed isn't without risk. Obstetricians recommend bedrest freely, but spend too much time lying in bed,
Pregnancy Spookers: The Big Six continued
4. Don't dye your hair, you vain babyhater!
What? Hair dyes contain suspected carcinogens.
Oh, relax! After 1980, manufacturers have reformulated their products to eliminate the most suspect ingredients, and there's doubt as to whether any of them were actually being absorbed through the scalp to begin with. There has been never been any conclusive scientific link established between hair dye and birth defects.
5. Peanuts? Poisonous!
What? If you eat peanuts, your baby will have an allergy to them.
Oh, relax!If you don't have a family history of these allergies, chances are your child won't develop one either. Besides, nuts are a good source of protein and unsaturated fats.
6. You're not actually going to drink that, are you?!
What? Alcohol exposure leads to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and mental retardation.
Oh, relax! All of the children described in the original paper on FAS were born to severe, chronic alcoholics. While some researchers argue that any alcohol is bad, others (including Britain's Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) say that an infrequent glass of wine with dinner is nothing to worry about. Believe it or not, there's even some severe, chronic alkies whose pregnancies come out fine (although being a severe, chronic alkie is never advisable). Do the research and come to your own personal decision.
and I guarantee you that you'll wind up with back pain. So the idea of avoiding all risk is nonsensical."
Of course, "better safe than sorry" is the safest and therefore the most anxiety-reducing strategy for many pregnant women. Yet other women feel that all of the panicky warnings and constraints — especially those that are still the subject of uncertainty and debate — can produce anxieties of their own.
On Slate.com, pregnant cook and food writer Sara Dickerman wrote, "Food, which has always been my great delight in life, has now begun to freak me out." One poster on BabyCenter.com groused, "So, I can't have sushi, hot dogs (which I had a lot of when I was craving them about a month ago), wine with Thanksgiving dinner, raw cookie dough, etc., etc., etc. Is it wrong for me to be resenting this kid and all of the things being pregnant is not letting me do?"
And the New York Times, in an article titled "Nine Months of Living Anxiously," noted that "Thanks to an ever-growing body of scientific research and an old wives' circuit thriving on the Internet, dozens of foods and activities and procedures, whether their danger is overblown or not, are now believed by some pregnant women to be threatening to fetal health. The result is a kind of Pregnancy Paranoia."
Although sometimes there is a scientific basis underpinning many of the warnings and wives' tales
(a recent study confirmed a link between high caffeine consumption and miscarriage risk), nowhere do our puritanical, xenophobic and fear-culture roots come out in a greater show of force than when we're wagging a finger at the mothers of tomorrow. The ideal mother is cautious, self-sacrificing, and renounces such impure indulgences as hair color, booze, and suspiciously exotic foods. For her own good, and for the good of her child, a decent American woman will stay away from the horrors of stinky French cheeses, smelly Oriental fish and sinful Italian Chianti.
Baloney, I say. Pregnant women have enough to cope with when considering all of the changes a new baby will bring into their lives — so why add a load of biased or poorly understood misinformation to her burden? It's reasonable to take a few precautions, not reasonable to believe everything you hear. Take the advice with a grain of salt — and maybe even a glass of Chianti.
View the Pregnancy Folklore From Around the World chart.
©2007 L.J. Williamson and Nerve Media
About the Author
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L.J. Williamson is a writer from Los Angeles. Her complaints have been printed in The Los Angeles Times, Salon.com, and Utne, to name a few. She lives with her husband, Monkey Man, and their two children, Fifi Bird
and Sugar Guy. Her website is ljwilliamson.com. |
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