Midwife Myths: Fact vs Fiction.

Read time: 2 minutes

From pineapple tricks to old wives’ tales about cravings, pregnancy myths have found a whole new life on TikTok - racking up billions of views (193.7B in fact) and confusing expecting parents in the process. Here Tara McCarthy, OVA’s Clinical Midwife is setting the record straight, one viral claim at a time.

“TikTok is a great place for sharing stories, but when it comes to pregnancy advice, it’s easy for myths to spread faster than facts,” says McCarthy. “My goal as a practicing NHS midwife is to make sure parents-to-be have clear, evidence-based information - so they can tune out the noise and focus on what actually matters - and works!”

Drinking pickle juice can reduce pregnancy nausea.

Some people find sour or salty flavors help ease nausea, but there’s no scientific evidence that pickle juice specifically does the trick. It might help a bit for some, but it should be consumed in moderation due to its high salt content.

Baby’s heart rate over 150 bpm means it’s a girl; under means it’s a boy.

This is a classic myth I get asked about all the time and comes with no medical basis. Baby’s heart rate naturally varies - it’s not a gender reveal tool! So if you want to know for sure, stick to ultrasounds or genetic tests.

Dates may help with labour prep.

There is some small research suggesting that eating dates in late pregnancy may help ripen the cervix and slightly shorten labor - though it’s not a magic bullet. However, many midwives, including myself, do recommend them in moderation particularly if you have diabetes or gestational diabetes because of the high sugar content

Labour always starts with your water breaking like in the movies.

Spoiler alert - it doesn’t. In fact only about 10-15% of people have their waters break before contractions - for most, it happens during labour either spontaneously or after being broken by a midwife or doctor.

You can’t drink coffee when pregnant.

You actually can - it’s safe to have up to 200mg of caffeine a day when pregnant, which is roughly one to two shots of espresso. Just be mindful of other sources of caffeine (like tea and chocolate) so you stay within that limit.