there are so many things to know when you're
pregnant there are things to do things not to do and unfortunately there's a lot of myths
out there too there are so this week we are going to talk about kind of the 15 common myths
questions um that I get as an OB GYN and we are going to share if there's any truth to those
as well as debunk some of those myths and just in case it's your first time meeting us I'm Kurt
from a board certified pediatrician I'm Sarah I'm a board-certified ob gyn currently pregnant with
baby number two and we are the doctors bjorkman welcome back as we mentioned this week we're going
to be diving into some of the common myths of pregnancy because as you may or may not know we're
going through it ourselves yes time number two so these are things that I hear from patients all the
time as an OB GYN or even friends and family with just kind of wondering what's okay so we thought
we would do some myth busting today yeah and just in case you missed it we went through our first
pregnancy week by week detailing a lot of this information kind of in more depth stuff too so
please feel free to go back and check out some of our earlier episodes but starting out with myth
number one is that when pregnant pregnant women are eating for two and while I wish that that were
true um because I love ice cream um the truth is in the first trimester you do not need any extra
calories at all so this is for me then right and then in the second and third trimester you really
only need 350 calories and that is if you started out at a normal pre-pregnancy weight so ACOG
recommends that instead of eating for two you eat twice as healthy very cheesy but I like it
um so again you are not eating for two you need 350 extra calories in that second third trimester
which is like a hearty granola granola bar yeah okay so myth number two is that cocoa butter
prevents stretch marks all right well let's get right into it so stretch marks are really
a genetic thing and there are not good studies supporting any product to prevent them completely
stretch marks affect up to 8 in 10 pregnant women so eighty percent of pregnant women have some
stretch marks in reviewing the literature we kind of find that there is limited evidence on some
different things and one of them is something called centella abstract or possibly massage with
bitter almond oil um there's some different belly oils that maybe have almond oil in them may help
prevent some stretch marks um and or reduce their severity there's some other weak evidence that
hyaluronic acid may help prevent stretch marks there is some data that kind of retinolin may help
reduce severity of new onset stretch marks however its uses limited because we don't recommend
you use any retinoids retinols retinoic acid during pregnancy it can be pretty bad for baby
and teratogenic right that is correct so the cocoa butter and olive oil also have been studied
and are not effective in preventing or reducing the severity of stretch marks um basically Studies
have kind of concluded that the reliable methods for preventing stretch marks are pretty scarce
and the available topical modalities don't really have any great evidence from a rigorous
or well-defined study so things that seem to be a little helpful are almond oil and then limiting
rapid weight gain but if someone is trying to sell you expensive creams telling you that they will
for sure prevent stretch marks it is just not true okay so if there's something someone likes
to use for their skin probably fine as long as it doesn't have a retinoid in it but other than that
no strong evidence it's going to help right okay myth number three is that there are lots of ways
to tell the sex of the baby based on how you're carrying or the heart rate or other variable
factors can help people tell boy or girl without an ultrasound or genetic testing yes so while
these are super fun and great baby shower games um there is no data to back it up but you
know I have heard hey if you are carrying glow it's a boy if that initial heart rate is
high it's a girl and again such fun myths so fun to see how it shakes out for you but zero
data suggesting there yeah I would say each of these ways is correct fifty percent of the
time yes that's true so good luck with the game have fun okay uh myth number four you can you
can't fly on an airplane when you are pregnant oh that is very much not true you absolutely
can fly on an airplane when you're pregnant um and so and that you know enjoy your travels
that being said most OB gyns and the airlines do not want you to fly after 35 weeks or so um
because trust me no one wants you to have a baby on the plane you're OB your flight attendants or
you or the other passengers correct yeah so if you do need to travel after 36 weeks most Airlines
request a doctor's note um stating that you are fit to travel so also something important is
that pregnant women are at an increased risk of getting a blood clot and so sitting for a long
prolonged period of time also increases that risk so then we're flying where you're not moving much
and you're pregnant at that increased risk of a blood clot so I always encourage my patients to
get up and walk around on the plane at least once an hour get up walk to the bathroom just get
your muscles and your bodies moving and that could probably be true for a long car rides
too long car rides anytime you are sitting kind of not moving during pregnancy you want to
make sure you get up and keep your body moving something else I hear sometimes is that patients
seem nervous about you know take off Landing these changes in air pressure like is this gonna cause
my water to break or cause different things and the answer is no the cabin is pressurized okay
so it's preventing any big changes in pressure the other thing I sometimes hear from patients
is that they are worried about walking through that airport scanner is that safe and I also
in my first pregnancy hilariously very much remember thinking that myself like oh can
I walk through this airport scanner and I remember Googling it and just kind of laughing
so like you're not supposed to walk through them with a pacemaker or different things so I
totally understand where this concern comes from um so is it okay for baby and the answer is yes
it is totally safe the kind of whole body scanner that you are walking through at the airport uses
a technology called millimeter wave Imaging and it's designed to pick up potentially dangerous
objects that might be concealed under clothing and so this scanner uses radio waves that bounce
off your body and then go back to the machine for processing this is non-ionizing radiation and
uses less than the amount you get from your phone number five is that what you eat during pregnancy
will affect what the baby likes in the future so studies are showing us that weight gain and
nutritional choices can potentially have long-term impact on your baby's health and development but
probably not whether they like spicy foods or ice cream or apples right so specifically children
with intrauterine exposure to high maternal dietary inflammation and kind of a lower adherence
to a Mediterranean type diet have experienced faster growth rates from Early Childhood to
mid-childhood resulting in higher BMI kind of averages in the follow-up period is what some
studies are showing no interesting yeah number six pregnant women should not drink coffee so that is
false there is a lot of data on this so research has suggested and shown that moderate caffeine
consumption Which is less than 200 milligrams per day does not cause miscarriage or pre-term
birth and so that's the amount in one 12 ounce cup of coffee remember that caffeine is also found
in tea chocolate energy drinks and soft drinks interestingly kind of hot off
the press Jama published a study in October that really showed that it is possible
that moderate amounts of caffeine consumption during pregnancy may lead to children who have
a shorter height kind of between ages four and eight and so this is something that they are
looking at long term they don't know if this persists Beyond age eight but the study did show
perhaps moderate caffeine exposure and pregnancy may lead to Shorter Heights for children and
Studies have also also shown that more you know higher doses of caffeine potentially can lead to
small for gestational age babies so that is why the current recommendation on what ACOG recommends
is 200 milligrams of caffeine or less to be to be determined if that number should be even lower in
the future I think some of the challenges of these studies is they are showing Association is not
necessarily causes and I think the difference in Heights between those four and eight-year-olds was
at most about an inch between the mom's levels of consumption of coffee so right so interesting
thought we'll continue to follow that data as it comes out from those um National Institute of
child health studies okay great myth number seven is that pregnant women should not eat hot dogs or
other deli meats so there's some truth to this one um but it's not a hard no so there's a very small
risk of getting an infection called listeria from deli meat hot dogs in fact some other canned
fruits even ice cream okay the risk is very small but to avoid that risk you can just heat deli
meat or a hot dog until they steam so you can still eat turkey you can still have your hot dog
whatever makes you happy to be a hundred percent safe heat it in the microwave for 60 SEC 30 to 60
seconds until it steams yeah and there generally are kind of a couple outbreaks of listeria in the
U.S kind of in little pockets every year and so it's also good just to pay attention to your local
news if these are particular Foods you really like to consume yes okay myth number eight is that
pregnant women shouldn't eat fish when pregnant also not true fish is an awesome food to eat
when pregnant you just need to be careful and thoughtful about the type of fish you were
eating you want to avoid fish that has a high Mercury contact content and we that is really
we see that in big fish that eat other fish so Mackerel Shark swordfish big eye tuna things like
salmon tilapia Whitefish other shellfish are great and recommended to eat two to three times a week
okay awesome don't eat the giant fish right okay cool uh myth number nine is that pregnant women
shouldn't pet cats or change kitty litter so also false fault but again truth so let me elaborate
okay it is possible for cats to carry a disease called toxoplasmosis and this is an infection that
moms could theoretically get and then pass to baby while pregnant yeah which ends up being pretty
bad it can potentially be very devastating for a fetus so when a cat is initially infected the
toxoplasmosis infective cysts are passed in cat poop after that cats get immunity and don't get
reinfected but in theory if you got cat poop on your hands when they were initially infected and
then you got said cat poop in your mouth you could potentially get toxoplasmosis this is rare because
number one this infection is only found in cats who go outdoors and Hunt prey so mice and other
rodents so if you have an indoor cat who only eats cat food doesn't have contact with outside animals
your risk of toxoplasmosis is very very very low the other thing is you are most likely not getting
cat poop on your hands when you clean the litter box and if you do you are going to carefully and
completely wash it off so the risk of getting toxoplasmosis is honestly much greater from eating
undercooked Meats so to be ultra safe you can wear gloves while you are changing the litter box
or you know you are a great excuse to make your partner great excuse to make your partner do it
you do not have to tell them that I debunked this myth but to avoid getting toxo in general avoid
undercooked meat wash all of your vegetables and fruits thoroughly and then wear gloves or wash
your hands really well after working outside in the dirt okay awesome myth number 10 is that
pregnant women shouldn't lift weights run or do heavy exercise when pregnant and that is a
myth miss miss miss exercise is one of the best things you can do for your health and your baby's
Health while you are pregnant absolutely we have an entire episode about exercise and pregnancy
all the recommendations from ACOG and the other organizations tips all sorts of things so check
that episode out exercise is so great in pregnancy check it out awesome okay myth number 11 is that
you shouldn't sleep on your back when pregnant oh so you should sleep however you are comfortable
okay is the truth in that and let's talk about where this myth comes from so number one you may
find that later in pregnancy that sleeping on your back just isn't comfortable for you and and that's
okay and so more of the physiology behind this myth is that as your uterus grows and you lay on
your back that uterus May compress those big blood vessels that run along your spine specifically
the inferior vena cava however if that those blood vessels will be to become compressed and there was
decreased blood flow back to your heart when you were awake you would notice that you didn't
feel well you would feel nauseous you would feel light-headed and if you're sleeping your body
reflexively also senses that and changes position um so I just keep seeing this ad on Facebook for
this pregnancy pillow and it says it's the only pillow that kept me from Rolling onto my back
and I'm just like who cares it's fine to sleep on your back if you wake up in the morning
on your back don't panic your baby is fine So speaking about sleep myth number 12 is
that sex during pregnancy can hurt the baby because I am sure that Smith started with
some man with a very inflated sense of ego um but essentially unless you have some
pregnancy complication or contraindication where your doctor says you need pelvic rest um
AKA avoiding intercourse and this is often for things like a placenta previa a shortened cervix
potentially you've had bleeding during pregnancy and things like that otherwise it is okay and
safe to have sex when you're pregnant the uterus is a big strong muscle that is surrounding
that baby and then within that big strong muscle baby's kind of floating in a cocoon
of fluid and the cervix is kind of this neck um that of at the bottom of that uterus and is
three to four centimeters long during pregnancy and so your baby is far away far away and very
safe from anything in your vagina so feel free to use a time to connect with your partner
yeah yeah awesome okay myth number 13 uh you can't dye your hair when pregnant nope totally
fine you see these really old highlights need to be redone totally fine when you are pregnant
there is no evidence that people with you know normal scalp Integrity have any concern that
hair dye soaks into their head and passes to the baby it is just not a thing get your hair
did enjoy whatever makes you feel good okay okay down to our second to last myth number 14
is that eating spicy foods will induce labor be great just throw off on something and go
into labor um unfortunately there isn't any food supplement or activity including sex um no that
doesn't help that will induce labor we do have medications that can we can safely use but there
are no proven natural remedies to induce labor okay and finally number 15 is that natural
birth is better for my baby thankfully no um and I think that natural in this sense when people
say things like this refers to a medication-free vaginal birth and I think for some patients yes
this is a wonderful thing totally wonderful and I know for some patients who want medication that
is also a wonderful thing Studies have shown that epidurals and other pain control are safe for
mom and baby so it is really important to have a discussion with your doctor about your goals for
your birth and how the team can help support you accomplish those goals you want to have a meta
creation free birth absolutely go for it work for it prepare for it it's amazing if you want an
epidural also awesome go for it get your epidural um yeah and there is a little bit of data about
the differences in how babies do after vaginal birth versus C-sections that are all pretty small
numbers in terms of does baby benefit at all from going through the birth canal and getting kind
of the stress of that environment helping them have lower rates of some kind of mild limited
respiratory distress Etc after that again all of these are not major factors and at the end of the
day you probably don't have a whole lot of control over whether you have a vaginal or C-section
birth but this question was really about medicated versus not right and so our goal as your care team
is to of course Empower you and help you have the birth experience you want ultimately keeping mom
safe and baby safe and that looks different for every patient so that was some of the the 15 most
common myths please share with us in the comments other myths you've heard that you think we should
debunk leave them in the comments share some of the wild stories you've heard um and otherwise we
look forward to seeing you next week bye guys bye we're doctors but not your doctors
anything we've said in this video is for education or entertainment
purposes only it is not medical advice any specific medical questions you
have should be directed to your provider
