Debunking Common Birth Myths: What Every Mom Should Know

You Have to Give Birth Lying Down

The idea that you must give birth lying down is one of the most persistent and limiting birth myths. While it’s still common in many hospital settings, this position isn’t always the most effective or comfortable for the birthing parent.

Why This Position Became Standard

Historical roots in hospital convenience: The supine (lying down) position was popularized not because it’s optimal for women, but because it’s easier for medical staff to monitor and intervene.
Institutional habits: Despite advances in evidence based care, this position remains a default in many facilities due to routine, not necessity.

Evidence Based Alternatives

Many other positions can actually support a faster, more comfortable labor sometimes even reducing the need for intervention:
Upright positions: Standing, sitting, or squatting uses gravity to help baby descend.
Hands and knees: This can ease back labor and help reposition the baby.
Side lying: A good option for resting without restricting blood flow or pelvic space.
Birthing stools or water births: Allow mobility while supporting comfort and control.

Choosing What Works for You

Listen to your body: Most people instinctively shift positions during labor to cope with contractions. Trust that urge.
Talk to your care provider: Ask if your birthing location supports movement and alternative positions.
Create flexibility in your birth plan: Include preferences for trying different labor positions and note what helps you feel safest and most powerful.

In short, you don’t have to lie down just because it’s expected. Birth is personal your position should be, too.

Pain Means Something Is Wrong

Pain during childbirth is often misunderstood. While discomfort is real and can be intense, it doesn’t always signal danger or dysfunction. In fact, pain plays a functional role in labor, guiding the birthing process forward.

Understanding the Role of Pain in Labor

Labor pain is not the same as injury pain. It’s your body working hard muscles contracting, the cervix thinning and opening, and the baby descending. Recognizing that this type of pain is purposeful can help reshape how you interpret and respond to it.
Labor pain often signals progress, not problems
Contractions help move the baby down and open the cervix
Discomfort can vary widely in intensity and duration

How Fear Amplifies Discomfort

Fear and anxiety can make labor pain feel worse. When you’re tense or afraid, your body releases stress hormones like adrenaline, which can inhibit the natural flow of labor and increase muscle tension.
High fear = higher perception of pain
Tension restricts blood flow and can stall contractions
A calm mindset can encourage the release of oxytocin, supporting smoother labor

Tip: Childbirth education and supportive environments can help reduce fear before labor even begins.

Tools for Managing Labor Pain

There’s no one size fits all approach to pain management during birth, and that’s a good thing. You have choices both mental and physical techniques that can support a more positive and manageable birth experience.

Mental Approaches

Guided visualizations and breathing techniques
Mindfulness and meditation
Hypnobirthing strategies

Physical Supports

Changing positions and using movement (walking, rocking, swaying)
Water therapy (warm baths or showers)
Massage or acupressure from a partner or doula

Clinical Options

Epidurals (when chosen and needed)
Nitrous oxide (laughing gas)
IV medications for short term relief

Being informed about your options and preparing for pain both mentally and physically can help you enter labor feeling empowered, not fearful.

Epidurals Are Always Risky

Let’s clear something up: epidurals aren’t the villain in the birth story. Yes, they come with risks like any medical procedure but a lot of the fear comes from outdated studies, bad secondhand stories, or plain misinformation. Today’s epidurals are far safer and more precise, with anesthesiologists trained to find just the right balance. Temporary side effects like low blood pressure or a longer second stage of labor? Possible, but rare. The real complications like nerve damage are incredibly uncommon.

Sometimes, getting an epidural is the exact right move. If you’re exhausted after a long labor, if your contractions are relentless and your body tenses up instead of relaxing through them, an epidural can offer rest, focus, even emotional relief. This isn’t about toughness it’s about conserving energy for what matters: delivery.

Advocating for your birth preferences doesn’t mean rejecting interventions across the board. It means knowing your options, asking the right questions, and working with your care team instead of handing over total control. Want to wait and see if you need it? Say so. Want it the second you’re 4 centimeters dilated? That’s your call, too. Own your voice in the delivery room it’s your birth, not a checklist.

You Can’t Eat During Labor

This rule traces back to a 1940s concern: if a birthing person needed emergency anesthesia, and they’d recently eaten, there was a small risk of aspiration food particles entering the lungs. At the time, general anesthesia was more common and riskier. So hospitals played it safe and declared: no eating once labor starts. That thinking stuck around far longer than it should have.

Fast forward to now, and the situation is different. Anesthesiology has improved. Most births use regional anesthesia like epidurals, which doesn’t carry the same aspiration risks. Meanwhile, research is showing that moderate nourishment during labor helps sustain energy, stabilize blood sugar, and support the long physical effort of labor especially in cases that go long.

Some care providers still default to “nothing by mouth,” which can leave laboring people exhausted, light headed, or unnecessarily restricted. That’s slowly changing. More hospitals and midwives support light snacks and drinks during early and even active labor, especially low risk births. Think clear broths, electrolyte drinks, fruit, toast nothing heavy, nothing greasy.

Before the big day, ask your care provider how they handle eating during labor. Are light snacks allowed? Can you bring your own? What’s their policy and why? The goal isn’t to break rules it’s to be informed. Labor is a marathon, not a sprint. And no runner hits their stride on an empty tank.

The Baby’s Size Predicts a C Section

Ultrasounds are an essential part of prenatal care, but when it comes to estimating a baby’s size, they’re more of an educated guess than a guarantee. Studies show that third trimester ultrasound weight predictions can be off by more than a pound in either direction. For average sized babies, that margin of error can push parents and practitioners toward unnecessary fear and sometimes, unnecessary surgery.

But here’s the truth: size isn’t destiny. Your baby’s position, the flexibility of your pelvis, the strength and rhythm of your contractions these factors do more to shape how your birth unfolds than a number on a screen. Many people deliver so called “big” babies vaginally without complications.

The challenge is not only in the data but in the mindset around it. It’s easy to let a tech heavy prediction override your body’s ability, but the best outcomes tend to happen when parents trust their instincts, stay informed, and work with providers who take a balanced, individualized approach. Technology has its place, but it doesn’t replace your intuition or a birth team that really listens.

All Birth Plans Go Out the Window

Why Birth Plans Still Matter

Despite the popular saying, birth plans don’t just go out the window they offer an important starting point. While labor is unpredictable, a birth plan helps you reflect on your values, understand your options, and communicate clearly with your care team. It’s not about controlling every detail. It’s about preparing for them.
Encourages informed decision making in advance
Supports clearer communication during high stress moments
Helps your partner and care team align with your preferences

Flexibility + Knowledge = Confidence

A strong birth plan balances preparation with adaptability. The most powerful plans aren’t rigid they’re rooted in understanding different scenarios and how you’d like to respond.
Knowing what choices are available lets you pivot more calmly
Flexibility under pressure helps reduce anxiety
Having a “Plan B” can still reflect your core priorities

Practical Tips for a Realistic Birth Plan

A birth plan should be simple, respectful, and based on your specific situation. Think of it as a conversation starter, not a rulebook.

When writing your plan:
Use bullet points, not lengthy paragraphs
Highlight your top 3 priorities (e.g., avoiding unnecessary interventions, delayed cord clamping)
Discuss your plan with your provider in advance
Consider different scenarios: natural birth, needed interventions, emergency C section
Bring printed copies for your birth partner and care team

(For more myth busting insights, check out Pregnancy Myths Debunked)

Real Knowledge vs. Maternity Myths

The internet has no shortage of opinions about pregnancy and birth many outdated, a few dangerously wrong. That’s why it matters more than ever to challenge old assumptions. Just because something was standard twenty years ago doesn’t mean it’s right for you now.

Listening to your care team is important. They’ve got experience. But so do you your body, your instincts, and what you’ve taken the time to learn. Being informed doesn’t mean rejecting expert advice; it means asking better questions, recognizing red flags, and standing firm when something doesn’t sit right.

Informed moms make strong choices. Whether that’s choosing an epidural, a water birth, or backing up your birth plan with solid research, knowledge gives you agency. The more you unlearn, the more confidence you gain.

For more myth busting insights, check out Pregnancy Myths Debunked.