--- title: Top Seven Pregnancy Myths - Debunked date: 2018-12-20T03:00:00-05:00 author: Courtney Flickinger canonical_url: "https://www.americordblood.com/articles/health-and-safety-tips-the-pregnancy-myths-your-mom-told-you-debunked" section: Articles --- ![Pregnant woman gracefully sitting on the floor together with multiple stuffed toys.](https://assets.americordblood.com/transforms/blogs/5686/pregnantpic_386d96c8805b9f787d8ddb7fac784842.jpg) [ Pregnancy & Parenting ](https://www.americordblood.com/articles/pregnancy-parenting) 2 Min Read # Top Seven Pregnancy Myths - Debunked Being pregnant comes with a lot of do’s, don’ts, and pregnancy myths. Who better to help you navigate pregnancy than your mom and the occasional Google search. They both have the best advice. However, sorry Mom and Google, a lot of this advice is based on pregnancy myths. ## Here are the top pregnancy myths that mama may have told you, but are 100% not true: Pregnancy Myth #1: You’re Eating for Two Eating for two may seem like a convenient excuse to eat twice as much, but your developing baby is tiny, requiring only about 300 surplus calories on average. On average, women gain about 25 – 35 pounds. Not only is gaining more weight hard to take off, but women that gain over 50 pounds become at risk for having birth complications or C-Sections. Pregnancy Myth #2: No Sex If you are worried about damaging the baby, don’t be. While [brain fog pregnancy](https://www.pampers.com/en-us/pregnancy/pregnancy-symptoms/article/pregnancy-brain-fact-or-fiction) may stand in the way of certain positions, sex in itself, would not hurt the baby. The uterine muscles along with the amniotic sac protect the baby from impact during sexual intercourse. Nevertheless, in certain cases (such as potential miscarriages) doctors may advise against intercourse, so please check with your medical professional. \*Note: Sexually transmitted diseases could still be transferred to you and your baby. \* Pregnancy Myth #3: No Coffee How do you go a day without a cup? Honestly. Women often hear miscarriage or low birth weight warnings that come with having a cup of coffee. However, there is no clear evidence to support such a conclusion. Women that drink one cup of coffee, 200 milligrams, a day have shown no evidence in. Pregnancy Myth #4: Any form of stress during pregnancy is bad While excessive stress is not good in any condition, some level of stress actually accelerates fetal development. Women experiencing moderate amounts of stress have been shown to give birth to infants with faster brain processing capabilities. These improvements carry on into the toddler years in terms of enhanced motor development as well. Pregnancy Myth #5: You should not exercise if you’re pregnant Exercise is actually beneficial to both, mom and baby. Babies of mothers that exercise regularly have lower birth weights and tend to be more intelligent on average due to having more brain mass. Myth #6: Pickles, Pickles, Pickles Not all food cravings are created equal. Food cravings significantly vary from culture to culture, day to day, sometimes hour to hour. There are many reasons why women have these cravings (genetic, hormonal, psychological) and they should not be a cause for concern. Just remember to keep those peanut butter pudding cake tuna pops in moderation Pregnancy Myth #7: Saving Up Sperm Sperm count caps out after about 48 hours. Therefore, keeping it in for longer than that would have no effect on the potency or sperm count. We do all kinds of things because we “heard” them somewhere. Yet being educated is the best way to make sure you have a safe and healthy pregnancy. *The views, statements, and pricing expressed are deemed reliable as of the published date. Articles may not reflect current pricing, offerings, or recent innovations.* ### Cord Blood Banking Preserve your baby’s umbilical cord blood stem cells with CryoMaxx™ Processing and use in 80+ FDA-approved treatments and 100’s of clinical trials including autism, diabetes, childhood leukemia, sickle cell disease, and more. [ View Service ](https://www.americordblood.com/cord-blood) ### Be the First to Know Never miss the latest cord blood breakthrough, clinical trial, or stem cell education to keep your family healthy for life. 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