Chinese Superstitions

It continues to amaze me how people (some total strangers) are so willing and anxious to dispense pregnancy advice. I don’t mind people giving me advice or even sharing horror birth stories with me. I take it all in stride and get a good laugh out of most of it.

The other day at the gym I got my most unusual and funny pregnancy advice to date. I was changing and another lady in the locker room looks to me and says, “Are you pregnant?” Of course I answer, “Yes.”

I have never really talked to this lady before. She is usually arriving as I am leaving and the most we’ve ever said to each other is the casual hello. However, once she gets confirmation that I am pregnant she feels that this is a good time to have a full-blown conversation. She grew up in China and recently moved to the United States and now works in the IT department at University of Phoenix.

She asks me if I am having a boy or a girl. I tell her boy. She is thrilled with this news and proceeds to tell me how incredibly lucky I am to be getting a boy and that since this is the Year of the Ox my son will be very smart and very stubborn.

She then proceeds to tell me all about Chinese superstitions regarding pregnancy. It was really hard to keep a straight face during some of them.

- Don’t lift your arms above your head because this causes pre-term labor

-Stop wearing your wedding ring after month five because it causes extra weight gain

-Wearing a bracelet or necklace causes the umbilical cord to wrap around the baby’s neck

She was very insistent that I follow these rules in order to have a healthy baby. I think I am going to take my chances and keep reaching for items on the top shelf of my pantry, I won’t stop wearing my wedding ring and I simply cannot live without my watch and necklace.

Like I said, I take it all in stride and get a good laugh along the way.