I recently read an article related to pregnancy superstitions from around the world and I realised just how weird things get as soon as you announce you will have a baby. Things date from ancient times when medicine was primitive and an easy birth was just not very certain. Pregnancy was a simple waiting game. Folklore became a good way to give women the feeling that they are doing a good job and the right things for their unborn baby but as well as explaining things when they go wrong.

Nowadays medicine is so advanced and blood tests, scans and predictive measures are standard for every pregnancy. However, many women fall slave to superstitions . Grand mothers, aunties and other old relatives will predict the sex of your baby and sometimes the due date using the strangest of methods.

And because every country is different so are the old tale tales and methods used.

Here are some of the strangest pregnancy superstitions around the world:

HAWAII:

you better not adorn yourself with any leis if you want your baby to be safe and healthy. Leis or any other types of necklace are not for expecting mothers. If you visit Hawaii, the locals may ever well deny you a lei, or even tell you to take it off if you are pregnant! This superstition believes leis are serious bad luck for babies and they will be born with the umbilical cord around the neck

MEXICO –

People believe that if the mother eats a lot of eggs during her pregnancy her baby will have terrible body odour

CHINA:

If the mother to be rubs her belly too much it’s a sign that she will have a very spoiled baby throwing tantrums and demanding things.

 

Also in China, bananas are associated with miscarriage in the first trimester, papayas are thought to cause jaundice and difficult labour, while looking at someone painting a wall will give your baby a birthmark. Regardless of whatever you do, DO NOT EAT CRAB – it is believed to make babies mischievous or give them 11 fingers

 

 

NIGERIA: 

Many traditional Nigerian healers warn against eating meat during pregnancy, because of an ancient belief that if the expectant mother eats meat, her child will be born with the characteristic of the animal.

USA

Native Americans believe that the food consumed by expectant mothers can have a profound impact on their unborn babies. According to their belief, if the mother eats lots of berries, it can cause birthmarks in the unborn child, while consumption of seagulls or cranes can give birth to babies who cry excessively.

In the U.S., a woman is often told that if she looks bad or tired during her pregnancy she’s having a girl because a female fetus “steals her beauty.” The “ring over the belly” test is also popular across the country; many believe that if you dangle your wedding ring over your belly on a string, and it swings back and forth, it’s a boy. If it moves in a circle, you’re having a girl.

POLAND:

 

 

The Polish advise pregnant women to avoid walking under a ladder for the mere belief that their babies will be born thin.

 

 

 

INDIA:

In this country, many pregnant women believe the most dangerous time for unborn babies is during an eclipse. Alexandra Madhavan, a Canadian who married into an Indian family, says she’s learned many cultural superstitions from her mother-in-law. “[Women] will shut all the windows so the rays of the eclipse do not touch the pregnant woman,” which the superstitious there think could give the baby deformities.

RUSSIA:

Don’t tell an expectant mum that she is glowing. Russian women believe compliments tend to be insincere, and actually send evil to the recipient. To ward them off, babushka [grandmother] would tie a red thread or attach a safety pin to the stroller so the baby inside wouldn’t get sick. Pregnant women do something similar

TURKEY:

If a Turkish woman steals an object while she’s pregnant, it’s thought that the baby will be born with a birthmark in the shape of the looted booty. Pity the kid whose mom pilfered a Shake Weight!  Also they are discouraged from staring at monkeys, bears, or other animals; it’s said that if you look at an animal or person too often, your kid will end up looking like it!

And to make every expectant mum happy there comes the science: it is proved that there is a link between eating chocolate and giving birth to a happy baby 🙂 Chocolate is known to have mood altering properties that could positively affect the brain of the baby.

From dangling pendants to eating crabs, wearing red strings or staying away from certain fruits, we can agree most are just superstitions but we are guided by them all from fear of not hurting the unborn child, Although medicine is so advanced, pregnancy superstition around the world will still exist a thousand years from now still.