guest commentary For women, AIDS stigma worse Denver Post, CO - As a man I can never truly understand a woman's experiences of menstruation or pregnancy. I will never know the terror that my mother's milk might infect my ...
Ask Dr. H: Debunking myths about pregnancy Philadelphia Inquirer, PA - Nov 24, 2008 Also, it's not unusual for a mother to carry her baby lower with each subsequent pregnancy. A few other myths of pregnancy: A baby's heart rate cannot ...
Teen pregnancy Officials puzzled, worried by rise in rate Montgomery Advertiser, AL - Nov 18, 2008 "Where they have myths out there, we're trying to bring the facts about pregnancy and abstinence," he said. "And basically, that leads them to the truth. ...
Private. Snoopers/good neighbours keep out Times Online, UK - Nov 26, 2008 No one would want to live in a society of snoopers and tattle-tales. Nostalgia for some mythical Britain of community cohesion is pointless, and possibly ...
Peer educators bask in news of teen birth dip Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI - Nov 18, 2008 That blame-free environment allows them to effectively counter the myths girls bring into the classroom: that they can't get pregnant if they have sex ...
Debunking myths on Diabetes Awareness Day Vancouver Courier, Canada - Nov 14, 2008 Myth: If I had diabetes, I'd know it. Reality: Diabetes, like high blood pressure and heart disease, may have no symptoms in its early stages. ...
The living quilt: Women fight the stigma of HIV/AIDS Belleville News Democrat, USA - Nov 11, 2008 By AUDRA DS BURCH - McClatchy Newspapers MIAMI -- Almost 20 years ago Julia Llorent went to get a pregnancy test. It was positive. ...
The Screams of Sitges 2008 Fangoria - Nov 4, 2008 Balaguer? revealed, ?It would accent the terror of the pregnancy situation more than the gore.? This year?s own extreme French splatter favorite, MARTYRS, ...
What did you Puritans ever do for us, Oliver? Independent, UK - Nov 15, 2008 Burgeoning female sexuality underscores every episode of The Devil's Whore, exploding perhaps the most tenacious puritanical myth. ...
Haemophilia in Malaysia Malaysia Star, Malaysia - Nov 15, 2008 There are so many myths about this condition, and people who live with it not only have to deal with daily adjustments, they also need to educate the people ...
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Recent News and Articles on the Keywords: pregnancy + myths + tales Related to the article below (Last Update: 8/7/2008)
Court Abortion Row Divides India Sky News, UK - Aug 5, 2008 It is a myth that it only happens in India's illiterate villages - middle class India is among the worst perpetrators of female foeticide as they can afford ...
Debunking the Old Wives Tales of Pregnancy WLNE-TV (ABC6), RI - When it comes to pregnancy, there are plenty of myths out there. Some expecting moms listen to the stories to keep their babies safe, but is there actually ...
Xpress Reviews?First Look at New Books Library Journal, NY - Aug 5, 2008 Also, the author?s examples are at times extreme, which gives the book a cautionary-tale feel. A number of chapters could be useful for all pregnant women ...
The real mistake in 'teen pregnancy' Los Angeles Times, CA - Jul 13, 2008 Unfortunately, such commentators ignored a far more important truth revealed by the myth: The three-decade national teen-pregnancy furor is mired in ...
The Myth of the Elective C-Section AlterNet, CA - Jul 15, 2008 Our Bodies Ourselves' recently released book "Pregnancy and Birth" explains that the studies which produce data like what Dr. Reichman referenced is flawed ...
Amanda Marcotte AlterNet, CA - Jul 9, 2008 One of the worst problems in American politics is that once a wingnut myth takes off, it never dies, no matter how much evidence you can marshal against it. ...
Buy a Fake Purse and Other Real World Advice for Working Moms PR-USA.net (press release), Bulgaria - Aug 2, 2008 Far from "trashy", early reviews hail the book as 'The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy for the School Years" and has been praised as a "veritable ...
Planned Parenthood's "Surplus" Is An Anti-Choice Myth RH Reality Check, DC - Jul 8, 2008 We're already seeing more conservative states redirecting funds that used to pay for services to lower income women go to crisis pregnancy centers that ...
Boyish charm Austin 360 (subscription), TX - Jul 10, 2008 Many happy fangirls also came, proving the universal draw of del Toro's myth-infused brand of genre enchantments. Presented by the Alamo, Harry Knowles and ... HellBoy II: The Golden ArmyRadar Online all 942 news articles »
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[BOOK] Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype CP Est?s - 1995 - Ballantine Books
Naturalizing Power Sylvia Yanagisako and Carol Delaney - S Yanagisako - Naturalizing Power: Essays in Feminist Cultural Analysis, 1995 - books.google.com ... In this origin myth, Man was the epitome of creation and ... as a number of parallels
to the stories in Genesis ... coitus did or did not result in pregnancy"(1968: 127 ...
[BOOK] Wisconsin Chippewa Myths and Tales and Their Relation to Chippewa Life: Based on Folktales Collected … V Barnouw - 1977 - books.google.com ... aesthetic satisfaction, the enjoyment of a tale for its ... From these stories we can
learn something about the ... Although the Wenebojo origin myth seems strange to ...
[BOOK]Myths and Tales of the Jicarilla Apache Indians - ME Opler - 1994 - books.google.com ... of episodes and themes drawn from a number of other tales. ... ever as a brake to hold
each tale to a ... unifying threads which run through all the myths are themal ...
[BOOK]Myths and Tales of the Southeastern Indians JR Swanton - 1995 - books.google.com ... American corpus and then worked simultaneously on indexing European and Native American tale... led him at least to a first-stage index for Myths and Tales. ...
Myths of Sexuality Education - R Morris - Journal of Moral Education, 1997 - informaworld.com ... AIDS, and will successfully avoid a premature pregnancy." Its promise ... 3. Three
Alternative Stories ... an alternative to the utilitarian-missionary myth, I would ...
Earth-Diver: Creation of the Mythopoeic Male - A Dundes - American Anthropologist, 1962 - JSTOR ... SILBERER, HERBERT 1925 A pregnancy phantasy in a man ... 1947 Reflection of social life
in the Navaho origin myth. ... THOMPSON, STITH 1929 Tales of the North American ...
[BOOK] The Myth of the Birth of the Hero: A Psychological Interpretation of Mythology O Rank - 1914 - The Journal of nervous and mental disease publishing company
The Wish to Keep Pregnancy Secret - JJ Andresen - Psychoanalytic Review, 1983 - pep-web.org ... Two of the most popular of these tales deal with the ... of life appears as well in the myth of the ... The prince gives Rapunzel a pregnancy (they weave together) and ...
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Pregnancy Myths and Tales
Technology and medicine have transformed the experience of pregnancy for modern women. Prenatal medical testing can indicate the sex of your child, the amount of fluid in your uterus, the weight of your baby before birth, and many other facts. Despite this increased reliance on diagnostic information, pregnancy continues to inspire its own set of myths and tales - some that are wacky and some that are downright weird.
Pregnancy Tales: Hit or Myth?
Parents who wouldn't dream of skipping a prenatal appointment often find themselves wondering whether Great Aunt Sally's predictions about Junior's gender could be on the money. Why would parents choose to follow pregnancy advice from friends and family that is not grounded in medical science?
In many cases, hearing predictions about the baby's sex or how much hair the baby will have is fun and harmless. If the sales clerk at an infant clothing store tells you that you are carrying a girl because your cheeks are round and rosy and women who carry girls possess rounder cheeks, there's no harm in hearing how often she has made accurate predictions.
In some cases, however, it may be harmful to do what a pregnancy myth or tale suggests. Here's when you should beware:
when the myth suggests that you contradict your doctor's medical treatment (such as discontinuing prenatal vitamins)
when the myth suggests that you ingest or inhale something not recommended by your doctor (such as herbs or drugs)
when the myth makes you extremely fearful for your baby's health (stress on the mother can adversely affect the baby)
Common Pregnancy Myths
Pregnancy myths may vary from generation to generation and from region to region. Myths your grandmother in Texas claims are true might be different from what your uncle in Alaska believes. Here are a few of the most common pregnancy myths:
Myth: Standing on your head after sex can increase your chances of becoming pregnant.
Truth: Although some experts say that lying down after sex for 20 to 30 minutes can increase your chances of conception because it keeps the sperm inside you, standing on your head has not been proven to aid in conception (and you might hurt your neck while trying to do it!).
Myth: The shape and height of your belly can indicate your baby's sex.
Truth: The popular belief that women carrying boys carry low and women carrying girls carry high just isn't true. The shape and height of your belly is determined by your muscle tone, uterine tone, and the position the baby is in. That's why someone may think you're having a boy because you're carrying low, when actually the baby just dropped lower into the pelvis because you are closer to delivery. The most accurate way to determine your baby's sex? Talk to your doctor about an ultrasound.
Myth: Fetal heart rate can indicate your baby's sex.
Truth: A normal fetal heart rate is between 110 and 180 beats per minute (bpm), although some people think if it's faster (usually above the 140 bpm range) it's a girl and if it's slower it's a boy. But there have been no studies that conclusively show that heart rate is a predictor for sex. Your baby's heart rate will probably differ from prenatal visit to prenatal visit anyway - depending on the age of the fetus and activity level at the time of the visit.
Myth: The shape and fullness of your face during pregnancy can indicate your baby's sex.
Truth: Every woman gains weight differently during pregnancy, and every woman experiences different skin changes. If people tell you that because your face is round and rosy you are having a girl, they might be right - but it's just as likely that they are wrong!
Myth: If you experience heartburn during pregnancy, your baby will be born with lots of hair. Truth: Heartburn throughout pregnancy is extremely common, so heartburn isn't an accurate predictor of whether your baby will be born with lots of hair. And don't forget that your baby's hair will fall out shortly after birth anyway!
Seeking the Truth
As you go through your pregnancy, it can be fun to collect these tales, and many baby books have sections for you to record predictions. However, for medical advice pertaining to pregnancy, you should consult your doctor first. For example, before you rely too heavily on your mother's idea that the baby is a boy, talk to your doctor about getting an ultrasound if you want to know for sure.
