Stop common pregnancy misconceptions and myths
Let me just say this up front, before I got pregnant I was a fool!
I had no idea what I was getting into.
When I did get pregnant, I discovered the most unsettling secret:
Pregnancy is hard.
How could I believe all the annoying pregnancy misconceptions that are floating around?
I think the pregnant women in my life prior were extremely strong. They never complained and always looked perfect.
I am talking about my sister, cousins, and
So I thought pregnancy would just be dandy.
They also mentioned that the pregnancies they had when they were younger, were easier.
As always, there are plenty of factors and every pregnancy is different. These are the misconceptions that are probably true for most women.
If you are pregnant or plan on becoming pregnant, just know you are in good company. There are plenty of women out there like me who want to help you get through it that is why we do what we do.
#1 You just let your body grow
Do you think a growing stomach is the only thing that happens to a woman during pregnancy? If so you are unfortunately misinformed. Here are a few things pregnant woman go through:
- Breast pain
- Mood swings
- Nausea
- Body discomfort
- Loss of bladder control
- Swollen body parts
- Fatigue
Those do not even scratch the surface of the pregnancy journey. Being pregnant is not just about your stomach growing, you are creating life, and for it to happen, it wreaks havoc on your body.
It steals your nutrients and sucks the life out of you.
How to conquer the truth
Learn about the symptoms you are experiencing, there are tons of remedies for everything. If you are going through something, chances are someone has been there done that, but err on the side of caution.
Or ask your doctor, most OB/GYNs have a phone number you can call if you have questions.
#2 You can eat whatever you want and as much as you want
I personally experienced the complete opposite. I also know several women who did too. I could barely keep anything down, and my body rejected food most of the time with constant heartburn. Then in the third trimester, there was no room in my stomach.
I basically could not eat for several months!
However, even if you can eat, there are certain things you should not. You must avoid many foods and question everything you eat.
It can take the pleasure out of eating food altogether. To learn more information on food and other topics read The First 15 Things to Do When You are Pregnant and Stunned.
Yup, eating sucks when you are pregnant.
But then if you do have cravings and your body is able to take in food – you have the potential to gain extra weight. You must be smart about what you eat.
How to conquer the truth
Figure out what foods you can eat comfortably. If a particular food makes you sick or gives you heartburn write it down, so you do not make that mistake again.
When you write, go into detail so if you get a craving you can stop yourself by reading about what happened last time.
***If you find this post useful, check these out too***
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#3 You need a nursery
Whenever you watch a chick flick pregnancy movie, it’s all about setting up the perfect nursery and prepping for the baby looks fun.
The reality is, shopping while pregnant is exhausting and you end up buying stuff you never use.
If you do not have space or you have a gut feeling that you do not need an entire nursery, skip it. Get only the things you do need, here is my post on the Most Essential Things a Newborn Baby Needs, it lists ONLY the basic items you need.
How to conquer the truth
Before you go out and buy all that cute nursery stuff, think hard about where you want your baby to sleep, budget how much money you want to spend, and how much space you have. Your answer to these questions will determine nursery or not.
#4 You “glow”
If you are going through a difficult pregnancy or a tough period in your pregnancy – you know your glow game may be non-existent.
When you are sleep deprived, exhausted, and nauseous, it is hard to imagine you are, “glowing.”
Then you have those mornings where you are barely able to brush your hair or teeth. Someone telling you that you are glowing is not something that happens at all. All you hear is, “are you okay,” “you look tired,” or “is something wrong,” like a broken record.
Yes, I am tired! Is what you want to scream.
Even if science is making you glow naturally, you can’t appreciate it most of the time because there is always something making you feel crazy.
How to conquer the truth
Do not worry about “glowing.” Be more concerned about your health, taking care of yourself and making smart decisions for your developing baby.
#5 It is easy and effortless
If I could go back in time and slap the 20 something-year-old inside me that believed pregnancy is easy, I would.
In fact, after raising a child, it may be one of the hardest things you do. It is definitely physically demanding.
Believe me, it is not effortless. You are tired because your body is working 24/7 making body parts and growing your baby. Your body does all the work involuntarily, but you put in your effort by letting your body do its job and dealing with the side effects.
How to conquer the truth
Enjoy the times when it does feel easy! Give yourself a break when you do not have the energy to get all the things you want to get done.
#6 You have 9 months to get ready
Life happens, before you realize it, you could easily skip a period or two without realizing it – especially if you are irregular.
I found out when I was 12 weeks! Oops. I was living and enjoying life and did not realize my skipped periods.
That left me with approximately 6-7 months to prepare.
Realistically, most women find out after they miss their first period. So automatically that means most women will have about 8 or so months to prepare.
Some women find out earlier. Some find out much later.
We have all heard or read those crazy pregnancy stories about women finding out they are pregnant with a few months (or hours) to prepare. Life happens.
While 7-8 months may seem like a long time (and trust me you feel like you are pregnant forever), pregnancy goes by very fast.
How to conquer the truth
No matter when you find out, use your time wisely and accordingly to prepare for your baby. Prepare your home, your budget, at work, for labor and anything else you feel necessary.
#7 You are ready to be a parent once your baby arrives
Nothing prepares you to be a parent. Not even having multiple dogs!
Trust me, it is not the same.
You can read all the books (and that is a great thing to do), but at the end of the day, parenting is something you make up as you go along.
You can’t possibly be prepared for every situation that arises as a parent. It is impossible, every child is different and each day presents new situations.
In fact, as soon as you figure out how to deal with your baby’s painful nursing latch, then you notice a rash on your on her leg after the rash clears up, you will notice something else, and the cycle continues.
Parenting is not the place where you want to work at being perfect. It is more important that you have confidence in yourself and strong perseverance.
How to conquer the truth
If you are concerned about parenting once the baby is here – know this, you are already doing the right thing, you are reading and doing research on your pregnancy and what to expect. Good job!
As mentioned above, read a few books, get an idea of what to expect. Just know that you will be a great parent and even the best make mistakes.
#8 You should not have anxiety about giving birth
People will tell you not to worry about giving birth. To some extent that is good advice, but just know it is perfectly normal to dread it – I know it was the worst pain I have ever felt.
However, I used my anxiety to my advantage by driving me to research and learn as much as I could about it.
The more I learned about it, the more prepared I felt about it.
I also spoke to my doctor about it. I even cried in his office and after letting it out and him being extremely understanding about it, I felt much better. Sometimes letting it out to someone you trust is precisely what you need.
How to conquer the truth
Do what works for you. If learning about it will help you, then learn all about it.
Or are you the type of person that does better with the unknown? Then just try not to think about it – or talk about it. Trust me every woman who has given birth will try to tell you her horror story, if you can’t handle it, just politely let her know you are already nervous enough as it is and that you will listen to her story after your baby has arrived.
#9 You get “morning sickness”
I think we just need to stop calling nausea morning sickness. While it happens a lot in the morning, for some of us it lasts all day long.
It did not matter what trimester I was in or what time of the day it was – I had “morning sickness” often.
There was this one fabulous week during my second trimester where I only threw up a few times. That week was so great, I thought, this is so easy, pregnancy is incredible. Yeah, that was short lived.
How to conquer the truth
Be ready to have “morning sickness” at any time during your pregnancy! Take comfort that no matter how horribly sick you get it will stop, even if it’s not until after you give birth.
You will forget all about the queasy feeling and also think back at your pregnancy fondly. Your brain is good at forgetting the tough parts and remembering the beauty of pregnancy.
Final thoughts
Hopefully, this post was not too scary.
Honesty when it comes to pregnancy is what the world needs because people must understand pregnancy is hard.
Since women are so brave and strong, people assume it is a walk in the park and labor is the only hard part of it. I really wish that were the case.
With any luck, knowing what you know now you can definitely prepare for it and make your pregnancy bearable.
If you do have a tough pregnancy, just know there are plenty of mamas out there who want to help you. When you need a break from medical advice and just want to know what other women went through and what they did, we will be here to share.
I know I want you to learn from my mistakes. Like I said above, you are already doing a great job! Keep going, mama or future mama.
***All day I think about babies, read on for more***
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