Mom's Signs

Mom's signs

The period of waiting for a child is an exciting time for a woman and her loved ones, so in ancient times people invented a lot of prohibitions and rules for all occasions of pregnant life. Popular wisdom regulated the main points of pregnancy: nutrition, behavior, lifestyle, habits. Nowadays, some superstitions are supported by scientific evidence, while others seem completely absurd. Therefore, it still makes sense to return to something that was noticed a long time ago - what if it comes in handy?

One of the ancient superstitions says that pregnant women are prohibited from looking at fires for fear of large birthmarks appearing on the baby’s body. For the same reason, it was not allowed to swear in front of a pregnant woman, and the mother herself was not allowed to grab her face in fear. These beliefs demonstrate how wise our ancestors were - they understood that emotional turmoil is not good for mom and baby.

Since we have touched on the topic of stress and fear, it is worth mentioning another old sign: a pregnant woman should not look at everything ugly and at scary shaggy animals. Moreover, the latter included the completely peaceful domestic cat. Modern medicine supports this sign: cats are carriers of a serious infection - toxoplasmosis, which can cause fetal malformations.

In the old days, there were economic signs that were completely harmless for a pregnant woman. Bearing a new life, it automatically became a symbol of fertility and prosperity.

Today we treat signs freely, but in the past we observed them very carefully. Relatives made sure that the pregnant woman did not sew, knit or patch clothes, especially on Christmastide and the Semitic week preceding the Trinity Day.

Signs in many countries do not advise purchasing a cradle, crib and stroller before the baby is born. The explanation lies in the belief of the ancients that the impression should not be created that the place of the future baby in the house has already been taken.

There are a lot of warning signs that directly concern a pregnant woman. One of the most common ones these days is that a pregnant woman should not sit on the threshold. In Rus', the threshold was considered a mystical place, the border between the outside and one’s own, the real and the other world.

There were also quite comical signs. They said that a pregnant woman should not climb through the window, otherwise the birth would be difficult. At the same time, it is completely unclear why the expectant mother had to undergo this difficult operation.

Interestingly, there are several signs indicating what the expectant mother should not step over. For example, walking through a log makes it difficult to give birth. In general, this superstition has medical expediency: pregnant women are not recommended to take long steps.

There were signs for those around a pregnant woman. They are still relevant today: you cannot argue with a pregnant woman or envy her. It is necessary to talk as little as possible about the expected child, so as not to cause bad consequences. It's difficult, but very smart.

A pregnant woman's appetite was considered indicative of the sex of the child: if a mother eats everything and with great pleasure, she is carrying a boy. Accordingly, capriciousness and picky eating were considered a sure sign of a girl in the tummy.

One of the common signs these days is: you cannot capture the appearance of a pregnant woman, so as not to harm the unborn child. The roots of this superstition are in ancient ideas about the undesirable effect of doubles.

Quite a lot of signs are associated with numbers. They believed, for example, that if a pregnant woman should not eat double vegetables and fruits, or eggs with two yolks, twins would be born.

Uncomplicated and painless childbirth is still the dream of expectant mothers. In ancient times, the lungs were born