Publication: I'm Not Martha
Childbearing myths and facts. | |
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I'M NOT MARTHA - Wednesday, March 7, 2007
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Help yourself to some great self-help videos on www.evtv1.com
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Hi! I'm Lizzy!! and I'm not Martha!!!
I've thinking a lot about Old Wives' Tales. I'm not quite
sure how it all got started. Probably one of those "Step
on a crack, break your mother's back" moments. Old Wives'
Tales seem to be unsophisticated and, well, goofy, but they
represent the wisdom collective handed down from one gen-
eration to another. Most Old Wives' Tales are designed to
discourage unwanted behavior or to explain what was once
unexplainable. I think it gave people a sense of control.
If they could read the signs, they knew what to expect.
Childbearing and birthing are big on the list. Many have
become legendary.
I started looking at some of them...checking out the
veracity.
P.S. If you're interested we now have a forum. You can post
comments on this and recent issues at...
Not Martha forum
*If the fetal heart rate is under 140 beats per minute
(BPM), it's a boy.
False. A baby girl's heart rate is usually faster than a
boy's, but only after the onset of labor. There's no
difference between fetal heart rates for boys and girls,
but the rate does vary with the age of the fetus. By ap-
proximately the fifth week of pregnancy, the fetal heart
rate is near the mother's - around 80 to 85 BPM. It con-
tinues to accelerate until early in the ninth week, when
it reaches 170 to 200 BPM and then decelerates to an
average of 120 to 160 BPM by the middle of the pregnancy.
Normal fetal heart rate during labor ranges from 120 to
160 BPM for boys and girls.
*Extra weight out front means a girl; weight around the
hips and bottom indicates a boy.
False. If a woman has a short torso, there's no place for
the baby to grow but out. A long torso may mean roomier
accommodations for a baby, making it less likely for a
woman's belly to bulge outward. And a wide belly may just
mean that the baby is sideways.
*If a woman's carrying low, it's a boy; if a woman's
carrying high, it's a girl.
False. If a woman's carrying high, this may be her first
pregnancy or her body's in good shape. Stomach muscles
have a tendency to become more elastic with each pregnancy,
so a belly that's seen more than one pregnancy may hang a
little low.
*Cats can steal the air from a baby's mouth.
False. This tale goes back hundreds of years to a time when
cats were associated with witchcraft and evil spirits. Cat-
lovers, rest easy - it's anatomically impossible for a cat
or other animal to suffocate a baby by sealing the baby's
mouth with its own. Even so, cats and other pets should be
supervised around small children and introduced to a baby
gradually. Keep cats (just as you should keep other items,
like blankets and plush toys) out of your baby's crib or
bassinet.
*Women who suffer heartburn during pregnancy will have
babies with full heads of hair.
True. About 78 percent of pregnant women who reported having
some heartburn gave birth to babies with greater amounts of
hair. Studies have shown that in pregnant women, high levels
of estrogen and other hormones can relax the sphincter at
the bottom of the esophagus, causing heartburn. The same
hormones can influence fetal hair growth. How about that!
*Thumb sucking causes buck teeth.
True ... and false. Thumb sucking often begins before birth
and generally continues until age 5. If a child stops around
the ages of 4 to 5, no harm will be done to his or her jaws
and teeth. However, parents should discourage thumb sucking
after the age of 4, when the gums, jaw, and permanent teeth
begin their most significant growth. It is, therefore, after
this age that there is a possibility that thumb, finger, or
pacifier sucking will contribute to buck teeth.
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*Too much loud noise can cause hearing loss.
True. Just 15 minutes of listening to loud, pounding music,
machinery, or other noises can cause temporary loss of
hearing and tinnitus, a ringing in the ears. Think dance
clubs, fireworks displays, and...the most significant if
you ask me, headphones. When I can hear the beat and, oh
my goodness, sing along with someone else's iPod...you're
going to go deaf. Trust me! Turn it down! Now!
Loud noise causes the eardrum to vibrate excessively and
can damage the tiny hairs in the cochlea, a cone-shaped
tube in the inner ear that converts sound into electrical
signals for the brain to process.
Although temporary hearing loss usually disappears within
a day or 2, continuous exposure to extreme noise can result
in permanent hearing loss.
*Candy will rot your teeth out.
True and False. It depends on the candy. Jelly beans and
caramels won't do it but peaunt-butter crackers, potato
chips and salted crackers are just a few of the foods that
are most likely to cause tooth decay.
Simple carbohydrates - sugars - are easily washed out of
the mouth by saliva, while complex carbohydrates, found
in crackers and potato chips, stick between the teeth for
several hours, becoming a source for the bacteria that
causes tooth decay.
In addition to potato chips and crackers, other offenders
include oatmeal cookies, cereal flakes coated with sugar,
puffed oat cereal and cream-filled cookies.
The least sticky foods, and therefore the least likely to
cause tooth decay, are apples, bananas, hot fudge sundaes
and milk-chocolate bars.
So there you are....Any Old Wives' Tales and their reality
check that you know about? Write in and tell me.
Lizzy
Questions...Comments...? email Lizzy
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