Common Myths:

Since Eve's Foundation's establishment numerous students have shared their beliefs about pregnancy and childbirth with me. These beliefs or myths often negatively affect women's health, or hinder their ability to care for themselves during pregnancy and childbirth. Some of these myths affect their nutrition, some their comfort levels, others put their lives at risk. I would like to share some of these myths with you in order to demonstrate the need for quality reproductive health education.

Eating eggs during pregnancy may cause a baby's skull to be too soft, which will cause headaches in the future. Eating too many apples during pregnancy will cause the baby to grow too fat for birth. Having intercourse during pregnancy may cause blindness; it is believed that semen will be deposited on the fetus' eyes and cause blindness. Eating meat during pregnancy will cause a child to grow to be a thief. At birth hot compresses may be applied to a baby's skull to deliberately mold the baby's skull to give them a special shape. At birth hot compresses and herbal concoctions may be placed on a baby's skull to close the fontanel; it is believed that the open fontanel is caused by sickness. Female babies are douched with warm water, sometimes hot water, because it is believed that the vulva is sore after birth. Because women do not know how to properly position and attach babies on the breast, infants often suffer from marasmus, or starvation; women believe that this condition is a spiritual affliction given to the baby while in utero. Many women, even those who intend to breastfeed exclusively, believe that when a baby hiccups he or she needs water to stop the hiccups. During labor when a mother's body is massaged the blood vessels in the baby's eyes may rupture, causing blood to collect in his or her eyes. It is believed that at eight months the fetus dissolves into blood. At nine months the fetus reforms before birth. Therefore, some women believe that it is safe to have an abortion at eight months. This practice often results in the death of both fetus and mother. Women have expressed the belief that when they vomit during labor that they are vomiting amniotic fluid. Many women insert herbs into the vagina to deliberately dry the natural vaginal secretions with the view that men will enjoy intercourse more; this practice increases the risk of lacerations and thereby transmission of HIV. Some women have expressed the belief that when they use an IUD for family planning that the device may travel to your heart and cause heart problems. Women often believe that the symptoms of menopause caused by a spiritual curse. Some HIV infected men will seek out sexual relations with virgins; it is believed that HIV can be cured through intercourse with a virgin. Some men often believe that the gender of their baby is determined by the mother, which causes conflict when his desires are not met. Some women believe that their fertile vaginal mucous secretions, which appear during ovulation, are a sign of infection and therefore make a conscious effort to wash and dry away the secretions. This results in some women finding it difficult to conceive.