Old Wives’ Tales
Now that you’re pregnant, you may
receive all sorts of information—whether or not you welcome it. Some
may be useful, some may be frightening and some may be laughable.
Should you believe everything you hear? Probably not.
Below is a list of old wives’ tales that
you can definitely ignore. When you hear one of them, smile and nod.
You’ll know the truth and not worry this will happen to you!
• You need calcium if you crave ice cream.
• Cold feet indicate a boy.
• Refusing to eat the heel on a loaf of bread means you’re going to have a girl.
• Dangling a wedding ring over your tummy indicates the sex of your baby.
• Your baby will be born with a hairy birthmark if you see a mouse.
• If you carry out in front, it’s a boy—carrying around your middle means it’s a girl.
• Eating berries causes red splotches on your baby’s skin.
• If you perspire a lot, it’s a girl.
• Taking a bath can hurt, or even
drown, a fetus. (But do be careful of soaking for a long time in hot
water, like in a spa—that could harm the fetus.)
• It’s a girl if you crave orange juice.
• Stretching your arms over your head can cause the umbilical cord to wrap around baby’s neck.
• If you carry high, it’s a boy—carrying low means it’s a girl.
• Dry hands means you’re going to have a boy.
• Craving greasy foods means your labor will be short.
• Craving spinach signifies you need iron.
• Your baby will be cross-eyed if you wear high heels.
• Your moods during pregnancy affect your baby’s personality.
• Using various techniques or
substances will start labor. Do not try to induce labor by walking,
exercising, drinking castor oil, going on a bumpy ride (not a good idea
during pregnancy anyway) or using laxatives.
There are some old
wives’ tales that are true. If you’ve heard that if you suffer from
heartburn, baby will have a full head of hair, this is true! Studies
show over 80% of women who experienced moderate to severe heartburn
during pregnancy had babies with lots of hair! Hormones that cause
heartburn also control hair growth. Who knew?
Another tale to believe is that if you
have sex during late pregnancy, it may cause labor to start. If you
have sex after 36 weeks of pregnancy, you’re more likely to deliver
sooner than women who don’t have sex. Semen contains prostaglandin, and
when combined with your hormones, it may cause contractions to begin.
Tay-Sachs Disease
Tay-Sachs disease is an inherited
disease of the central nervous system. The most common form of the
disease affects babies, who appear healthy at birth and seem to develop
normally for the first few months of life. Then development slows, and
symptoms begin to appear. Unfortunately, there is no treatment and no
cure for Tay-Sachs disease at this time, and death usually occurs
before age 5.
The disease occurs most frequently in
descendants of Ashkenazi Jews from Central and Eastern Europe. About
one out of every 30 American Jews carries the Tay-Sachs gene. Some
non-Jewish people of French-Canadian ancestry (from the East St.
Lawrence River Valley of Quebec) and members of the Cajun population in
Louisiana are also at increased risk. These groups have about 100 times
the rate of occurrence of other ethnic groups. The juvenile form of
Tay-Sachs, however, may not be increased in these groups. See the
discussion below.
Babies born with Tay-Sachs disease lack a protein called hexosaminidase A or hex-A.
This protein is necessary to break down certain fatty substances in
brain and nerve cells. When hex-A isn’t available, substances build up
and gradually destroy brain and nerve cells, until the central nervous
system stops working.
Tay-Sachs disease can be diagnosed before
birth. Amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling (CVS) can diagnose
it during a pregnancy. If prenatal testing shows hex-A is present, the
baby will not have Tay-Sachs.
The disease is
hereditary; a Tay-Sachs carrier has one normal gene for hex-A and one
Tay-Sachs gene. A person can be tested to measure the amount of the
hex-A enzyme in the blood. Tay-Sachs carriers have about half as much
of the enzyme as noncarriers, which is enough for their own needs. A
carrier does not have the illness and leads a normal, healthy life.
When two carriers become parents, there
is a one-in-four chance that any child they have will inherit a
Tay-Sachs gene from each parent and have the disease. There is a
two-in-four chance the child will inherit one of each kind of gene and
be a carrier like the parents. There is a one-in-four chance the child
will inherit the normal gene from each parent and be completely free of
the disease. If only one parent is a carrier, none of the children can
have the disease, but each child has a 50–50 chance of inheriting the
Tay-Sachs gene and being a carrier.
There are various types of Tay-Sachs
disease. The classic type, which affects babies, is the most common.
Other rare deficiencies of the hex-A enzyme are sometimes included
under the umbrella of Tay-Sachs disease. These often are referred to as
juvenile, chronic and adult-onset forms of hex-A deficiency.
Affected individuals have low levels of
the hex-A enzyme (it is completely missing in the type that babies
have). Symptoms begin later in life and are generally milder. Children
with juvenile hex-A deficiency develop symptoms between the ages of 2
and 5 similar to those of the classical, infantile form. The course of
the disease is slower; however, death usually occurs by age 15.
Were You Hard to Live with
When You Had Morning Sickness?
If you suffered with morning sickness
and you’re starting to feel better, you may want to take stock of your
relationship with your partner. Were you hard to get along with when
you weren’t feeling good? Your partner needs your support as pregnancy
progresses, just as you need his support. You may need to make an
effort to work very hard at treating each other well—you’re both in
this together!
Symptoms of
chronic hex-A deficiency may also begin by age 5, but they are more
often milder than those with infantile and juvenile forms. Vision and
hearing remain intact, but slurred speech, muscle weakness, muscle
cramps, tremors, unsteady gait and, sometimes, mental illness may
appear. Individuals with adult-onset hex-A deficiency experience many
of the same symptoms as individuals with the chronic form, but symptoms
begin later in life.
9. Exercise for Week 15
Place a chair in the corner so it won’t
slide when you push against it. Place your right foot on the chair
seat; support yourself against the wall with your hand, if necessary.
Stretch your left leg behind you, lift your chest and arch your back.
Turn your shoulders and lean your torso to the right. Hold 25 to 30
seconds. Do 3 stretches for each side. Do this stretch before beginning
tummy exercises. Tones back muscles.
