Do you suffer from momnesia?

Growing another life in your belly certainly requires a lot of work: you’re eating and sleeping more, and trying to accomplish everyday tasks while exhausted. In the middle of all of that, it’s easy to forget where you put your keys, or even what your firstborn’s name is. The phenomenon known as pregnancy brain, or momnesia, sounds entirely reasonable. But is it even real?

Pregnancy Brain: Fact or Fiction?

Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any clear answers either way. Scientists have performed studies to monitor brain waves during pregnancy, but the women tested didn’t show any alterations in brain activity. Before you can grab your pitchforks, however, the scientists at The Australian National University go on in their summary of the study to clarify. While the brain itself doesn’t appear to be altered, the exhaustion of pregnancy alone can contribute to forgetfulness. If you add that with the surging hormone levels and new priorities, any mommy-to-be is going to have a little memory loss.

Fortunately, the excess hormones fade away shortly after birth, although your sleep patterns may not resume for a while. Your memory should return to normal relatively soon after giving birth, so you can be happy knowing that you (hopefully) won’t forever be looking for your keys.

Now that we’ve debunked one pregnancy myth, we might as well fill you in on a few others. Here’s a list of common pregnancy myths that just simply aren’t true:

• On Being Grounded: While you may have heard you can’t fly during your first or last trimester, it has nothing to do with concern for your baby. Typically, most airlines that don’t allow pregnant women on flights are simply concerned that you will go into labor and they’ll have to land prematurely.
• Eating Fish actually isn’t completely bad for you. Smoked salmon and sushi are perfectly fine in small doses (less than 12 oz in a week), and fresh-water fish is actually high in omega-3 fatty acids that are good for you and baby. As long as you avoid mackerel, shark, tilefish, and swordfish, you’re perfectly fine to eat what you please.
• Your cat is perfectly fine—as long as you aren’t cleaning its litter box. Play with, pet, and cuddle your cat all you want, just make sure someone else is cleaning up after them. Cat waste has a toxin in it known as toxoplasmosis that should be avoided throughout your pregnancy.

• Movement restrictions, like sex or lifting your arms above your head, are completely false. You can even sleep however you feel comfortable without risking harm to your fetus. These myths arose from the concern that the umbilical cord would wrap around the infant’s neck in the womb; if that occurs, it has more to do with the length of the umbilical cord and the fetus’ movement in the womb than what you’re doing.
• Finally, you cannot tell the baby’s sex from any outlying signs. Your baby naturally lowers during the third trimester in preparation for birth, and it has nothing to do with the baby’s gender. Similarly, how you carry the baby has more to do with its weight and size than anything else. Any heartburn you may experience is simply due to the womb pushing your stomach upwards—not due to the baby’s gender.

Go crazy: take a bath, exercise, dye your hair or even drink a cup of coffee—none of those things are bad for your baby. Instead, just be cautious about any medication (even cold or flu medicine) that you may need: talk to your doctor if you have any concerns about your diet or pregnancy routine. Otherwise, go crazy: we promise you’re perfectly fine!