This is going to be a multi-part series, I can already tell. Stick around to see just how far it goes!
Myth #1
“Easy pregnancy” Simply put, there’s nothing easy about pregnancy. You can go your full ten months (yes, ten. Not nine.) and never experience morning sickness, heartburn or lightning crotch but it’s still not an easy experience. Pregnancy is hard on the body as your organs shift and get smushed into a smaller space, your heart beats faster and harder, and your joints get all loosey-goosey. It is INSANE the way a body can adapt to growing a whole new person but it is WORK too.
Myth #2
“Heartburn = hair”
I can personally tell you this one is bogus. Every single thing I ate or drank gave me raging heartburn and my kid was born with the palest, finest, most sparse head of hair I’ve ever seen. Honestly unless he was two inches from your face you couldn’t see his hair until he was a year and a half!
There was a very small study done that hinted at a link between heartburn and baby hair growth, but it didn’t make a firm connection. The more likely thing is that pregnancy hormones relax the esophagus (and everything else), leading to more acid being felt in the throat and giving us heartburn. Anecdotally you’ve got about a 50/50 chance of this myth working out for you, and isn’t it fun to dream about cute baby curls?
Myth #3
Breastfeeding prevents periods and pregnancy.
It’s been repeated for many years but unfortunately it’s just not factual. I know a LOT of people who wish this was true. I was one of them too – my cycle resumed at about 9 weeks postpartum, even though I was exclusively breastfeeding.
It doesn’t matter if you’re nursing directly from the breast/chest, pumping or hand-expressing, your cycle will do what it wants to do. If you’re not ready for another pregnancy I suggest taking the necessary precautions, and if you are open to another pregnancy then test bi-weekly if you haven’t resumed a regular cycle yet. I’ll say it again a little louder – breastfeeding does not prevent pregnancy.
Check back for a continuation in the next few weeks. Let’s see how long this mini-series ends up!