40 Of The Most Idiotic Pieces of Advice Ever Given To Pregnant Women, As Shared In This Online Group

Currently pregnant, and currently dealing with my mother who became an anti vaxxer 13 years ago. I had no idea, just found out recently when I mentioned I got my tdap and flu shot and I asked if everyone in the family was caught up because the baby is due next month and flu season is right around the corner. She called me a [fudging] idiot for putting "rotting DNA" in my body while pregnant. She refuses to get a flu shot, so I refuse to let her see her first grandchild. Not taking chances with my kids life because you cant be bothered to do legitimate research or listen to me when I try and explain it to her.

My adorable father in law told me I HAD to deliver vaginally. If I had a C section, I wouldn't love my baby as much because I didn't suffer for him. First of all, the kid was comfortably sitting and was NOT turning around, you utter [bung]hole. I was not about to risk my kid's life in a feet first delivery, no sir. Second, a C section is a major surgery and a pain in the ass, believe me, I did suffer. You try being cut open like that while awake and then deal with a feisty colicky new born while recovering from it. Third, really? I need to feel pain in order to love my child? I can't even. Fourth, you don't even have a uterus, old man. Zip it.

When I found out I was pregnant a 4th time (3 losses in row) I heard so many from strangers mine isn’t necessarily advice but more open mouth insert foot “Are you SURE this one is going to work?”

I was also told if I was on my cell phone or around my modem/router it would cause brain damage to my unborn child.

She’s 4, perfectly healthy, no brain damage and let’s just say it took a lot of medical attention to get her to full term.

What caused my miscarriages they said my hormones couldn’t sustain a pregnancy and after the 3rd I was told that with my hormone levels getting pregnant again wouldn’t happen. She was a surprise and the best one ever. It took an educated doctor that wanted the best outcome. Previous doctors just looked at my history and was like sorry for your loss maybe next time will go better..

The best day of my husband and mines life was finding out that she was alive, thriving and having an amazing doctor who moved heaven and earth to make sure she’d make it. He was at work when I found out he actually yelled and his entire office heard him he almost ran around the office he was more excited than me!

My labor should be painless because Jesus died and erased the “pain during childbirth” penalty humans got from Eve. If I feel pain, it’s because I don’t believe in Jesus’ redemptive powers.

My MIL said it's ok to drink mixed drinks... she went on to say that my husband was a margarita baby. I now call him that when he gets on my nerves.

I had a co-worker tell me that eating peanut butter (I was eating an apple with peanut butter on my lunch break) would give my baby cancer. I already thought she was the world's greatest idiot so that nugget of wisdom was just confirmation.

Oh! I was told that I need to shave down there or the baby will get carpet burn. Like.. Wut?

Not to drink hot tea because then I would boil my baby.

Someone told my SO not to bathe because the baby would drown.

Edit: the reasoning for this advice was that the umbilical cord acted as a sort of snorkel from the baby to the mothers navel. If the navel was submerged the baby wouldn't be able to get air.

According to my mother, everything can cause miscarriage.

Coffee?

Miscarriage

Tea?

Miscarriage

Too much meat?

Miscarriage

Not enough meat?

Miscarriage.

Sewing?

Miscarriage

Paddling the school canoe

Oh, you better believe that's a miscarriage.

Had two miscarriages before finally having my daughter. Just bad luck chromosomal abnormalities... but she made sure to remind me not to do all of those things again next time, you know... just in case.

Thanks for the subtle blame, Mom.

Not me but my sister. She had to have an emergency c section when she had my niece. Her mother in law said she wouldn’t be a “real woman” unless she had a vaginal birth.

My mom was talking to my paternal grandma while pregnant with me then winced because I was kicking her ribs. My grandma told her "swat it so it'll know!" She wanted my mom to spank fetus-me through her own belly for kicking her. After my mom told us that story, "Swat it so it'll know" became a common response any time someone was complaining about something.

My grandmother made a comment about my weight gain with my first pregnancy around month 5. For reference, I started severely underweight at 87 lbs and was closely monitored by my doctor because of it. At this point, I was nearing 125. When I told her that the OB/GYN was happy with where I was, she told me of her own doctor's advice (in 1956), "Smoke a pack of cigarettes per day to keep your weight down. The baby can gain it's own weight after birth."

-sitting with my legs crossed wil cause miscarriage.

-don't take a bath, itll cause a miscarriage.

-lifting more than 5lbs will cause a miscarriage.

-wearing tight fitted clothes will cause a miscarriage.

-spicy food would cause a miscarriage

-I worked retail. A stranger informed me that morning sickness and smell sensitivity isn't real, while I was heading to the bathroom to throw up.

-also had a customer tell me that the baby isn't actually affecting my bladder.

-had a third customer tell me to not drink tap water. Can't remember why. Probably causes miscarriages.

-my cousin tried to tell me that I had morning sickness because its Gods way of telling a woman she isn't ready for a baby.

-I had an anterior placenta, so we couldn't feel kicks until close to 30 weeks. My mom was said there's no such thing, and the reason we couldn't feel kicks is bc I was fat.

Tldr; literally everything causes miscarriages and morning sickness is a lie.

My friend's dad was a chiropractor. She told him I had had miscarriages. He told me, "No wonder. You will lose every pregnancy with a pelvis like that."

Freaked me out SO MUCH and I guess I ruined the party by crying and leaving, and my friend was mad at me.

I have back trouble, yes, but I have three children living.

Oh I’ve got this: the lady at the counter in the village bakery told me that I should smear my face with SEMEN to counter pregnancy acne. It was the first time I’d ever met her.

Frozen cabbage leaves in the bra to help with swelling and pain due to breastfeeding. While it felt awesome for the whole minute or so they stayed frozen, they eventually turn to mush and make a mess.

Advice I wish someone had given me - get a mattress protector. Not just for when your water breaks. Carrying a big baby next to your bladder means just the act of rolling over in bed can cause leakage. And if you are too tired after the birth to take the baby to a changing table or the floor, you're gonna want a layer of protection on your mattress. Soon as that diaper is off, baby will projectile poop. Sheets and walls can be washed, but mattresses can't be. Poopsplosions are real. Prepare yourself.

My very first OB visit (first baby) handed me a book about month by month pregnancy and said that if I had any questions to just refer to the book. Then I said well what if the baby...she cut me off right there and pointed to the book and said “ah, ah, ah, it’s in the book.” I changed OBs.

For those who are asking my question was not in the book. I had questions about the baby being premature (my brother and I were born very premature) and I was going to ask her about it.

And my baby ended up being born 3 and a half months early and I had a lot of complications prior to that. Being high risk is not fun! But he’s healthy now :)

While pregnant with me, my mom was told that drinking beer would help her baby develop and be nice and chubby.

I was five weeks early and barely six pounds.

Yeah, it could have been substantially worse. Apart from being an early small baby, I don't have any fetal alcohol related health conditions.

Conversely, when my grandma was pregnant with my mom (her first) in the 50s, the accepted wisdom was that smoking while pregnant was a good idea for first time mothers because it lowered the birth weight. Which was supposed to make labour and delivery easier. But low birth weight is extremely dangerous and makes the process harder. My mom was born two months early and weighed about two or three pounds. She was so tiny that my grandma dressed her in baby doll clothing and my mom spent her first month of life in the hospital's NICU.

That if you try really hard and stretch a lot, you too can have a vaginal birth. Not actually a bad plan, as long as you don't wind up not freaking dilating after 30 hour and have an emergency C section due to fetal distress. Because I just didn't try hard and stretch enough.