Lies the Internet Tells Pregnant Women in their First Trimester

I am a worrier by nature. I hate it! It’s one of those bad habits that I’m really trying to kick to the curb. One of the fuels to my worry is the Internet. Every time I have an ache or pain… I Google what it could be. This drives Justin absolutely insane (and I can’t blame him because the result is usually a neurotic, paranoid wife). Of course, as any logical person will tell you, the Internet only provides you with the most extreme and unlikely answers to your various ailments. Example: headache = brain cancer, stomach ache = ulcer, gas = exploding bowl syndrome… ok, I made that one up, but you get the idea.

So without further delay, here are some “lies” that the Internet has told me over the course of my pregnancy and here are some of the honest answers I have received from my amazing team of health care professionals… feel free to add some of your ownJ 

LIE: If you don’t experience morning sickness, something is wrong!

TRUTH: Hollywood will have you believe that ALL expecting mothers experience morning sickness early on in their pregnancy. When I was about 5 weeks pregnant I watched the movie “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” and was alarmed at how the characters were experiencing morning sickness and food aversions but I still wasn’t! Ok, ok… I was naïve to think that a movie would give me any sort of sound medical advice, but it still freaked me right out!

For me, morning sickness came late. I felt pretty much normal and good for the first 7 or so weeks of pregnancy. So good, in fact, that I was worried something was wrong! But along came week 8 and I finally felt the dreaded pains of morning sickness. (Sub-Truth: However, for me, it wasn’t really dreaded. To be honest, I welcomed it, relived that I was feeling like a “normal” pregnant lady. Another reason why I am cray crayJ)

On a side note, some lucky women don’t experience any morning sickness at all. Can you imagine!? Here’s hoping pregnancy #2 is like that…

LIE: Gain weight! Eat for two!

TRUTH: This one annoys me to no end… and for the record, I never actually believed this to be true. But because it’s such a common misconception, let’s tackle it.

The truth is that the average woman (with a healthy BMI for her pre-pregnancy weight and height) will gain about 6 pounds within the first three months of pregnancy (an average of 2 pounds per month) and about 25-35 pounds over the entire pregnancy. Women who are overweight to begin with should gain even LESS than that. The key to pregnancy weight gain, according to my Doctor and Midwife, is slow and steady. And contrary to popular belief, you DO NOT need to eat for two at any time during your pregnancy. In fact, you will not need any extra calories at all in your first trimester and ONLY about 300 extra in your second and third trimester. That’s not even enough to cover you for a second serving of pie.

Personally, I have gained 4 pounds so far. I am happy with this weight gain because for me, it makes sense. I still work out and eat pretty healthy and I hope I can keep up this momentum in trimesters 2 and 3.

LIE: Working out in the first trimester will hurt the baby.

TRUTH: If you are someone with a healthy workout routine pre-pregnancy, you should keep working out during your first trimester and beyond! That said, if you’ve never worked out before, pregnancy isn’t the time to start. This is why it’s SO important to prepare your body for pregnancy by having a healthy active workout routine in place before conceiving. The benefits of working out are obvious and can result in some of the following during your pregnancy:

-          consistent and healthy blood pressure

-          stable moods (your partner will thank you)

-          strong core muscles to assist with carrying your baby and labor

-          stronger muscles in general and less pain (leg, back, neck, est.) during pregnancy

-          healthy weight gain during pregnancy and the ability to get back to pre-pregnancy size postpartum (the more muscle you have, the more calories your body will burn, even while resting!)

LIE: Cramping during pregnancy means miscarriage.

TRUTH: I wish someone told me before I got pregnant that some cramping during early pregnancy is perfectly normal – it would have eliminated a lot of worry for me… and a lot of Googling. The cramps I am talking about feel a lot like PMS cramps, with no bleeding. Later in pregnancy you may also start to experience something called Rounds Ligament Pain, which is pain caused by your growing womb. Boo! This symptom really sucks! Anything for baby though! 

Okay, friends. That's it for today. And hey, if you ever catch me using Google to self-diagnose, you have my permission to drop kick me. Ok? Deal.  

Grace and Peace, 
Alannah