Old Wives' Tales

We've all heard of them. But how many people actually know what the Old Wives' Tales are all about?


Wikipedia describes them as:

Old wives’ tales originate in the oral tradition of storytelling. They were generally propagated by illiterate women, telling stories to each other or to children. The stories did not attempt to moralise, but to teach lessons and make difficult concepts like death or coming of age easy for children to understand. Also these stories are used to scare children so they don't do certain things.

These tales were often collected by literate men, and turned into written works. Fairy tales by Basile, Perrault, and the Grimms have their roots in the oral tradition of women. These male writers took the stories from women, with their plucky, clever heroines and heros, and turned them into morality tales for children.

Let's have a look at a few of them.

• If a pregnant woman sees something ugly, she will have an ugly baby.

Have you ever seen a newborn baby? They are ugly creatures for the first couple of days! 

• A full moon was believed to cause a woman to go into labor and give birth.  

If this were true, no pregnancy would be brought to full term since there is a Full Moon every 28 days. If the Full Mood brought on labour, it would mean that the first Full Mood to rise would lead to a miscarriage.

• Using a string, hang your wedding ring over your pregnant belly.  You are having a girl if the ring swings back and forth  and it’s a boy if it swings in a circle.   

I wonder how accurate this method is. To be honest, this is a variant of the pendulum which is used for divination purposes. I don't feel that it is accurate at all since someone's hand can very easily tremble without anyone realising it, thus influencing the outcome. Also, how would this work for unmarried mums-to-be?

• The Mayan tale adds the mothers age at conception and the year of conception.  If the result is a even number then mom is having a girl.  If the result is an odd number then a boy is on the way

According to this, Creature will be a boy.

• If you have acne while pregnant, it’s a girl.  It’s thought that acne during pregnancy is caused by the extra hormones.

Extra hormones are there regardless of gender.

• People believe that if you are craving salty foods while pregnant, you can count on having a boy.  If you crave sweets, fruit, and orange juice, you are having a little girl.  

Now, this is one thing I don't believe in. I'm nearly at the end of the pregnancy, and my cravings have not changed.  Whatever I used to crave before the pregnancy, I crave now.  The one exception I might make is Chocolate Milk. Then again, I believe cravings are nothing more than your body telling you that you need this or that. When it comes to the milk, it makes sense since milk contains calcium, and a higher quantity of calcium is needed throughout the pregnancy to help build the fetus's bones.

• The person that is most aggressive in bed at the time of conception is the opposite of what the baby will be. 

 Ok.... what if both parties were equally as aggressive?

• If the pregnant woman is graceful throughout her pregnancy, she’s having a girl.  If she becomes clumsy, she’s having a boy.  

Seeing as clumsiness increases the bigger you get - due to a bigger shift in your centre of gravity..... I don't know what to make of this one. If I were to blieve this tale, Creature's gender changed a few weeks ago from girl to boy.

• If a pregnant woman prefers to lay on her left side, she’s having a boy.  If she prefers resting on her right side, she’s having a girl. 

One's preference entirely depends on the fetus's positioning. Since Creature tends to shift his/her bulk on the left side, I tend to sleep on my right side more often than not.

• If you had a smooth pregnancy with no morning sickness, it’s a boy.  If you were sick or felt really nauseous during your pregnancy, it's a a girl.

If you ask me, if you have had a smooth pregnancy, you were bloody lucky. 


And last but not least, my personal favourite!

• If you are really moody, you are having a girl since you have another extra girl hormones in you.  Your pregnancy will make you smile and be more happy if you are having a boy because there’s a little penis inside you.