Old wives' tales?
ET blogs
You've heard them all. So have I. They float down through each
generation of women and we never really know which ones are true.
The University of Texas Health Science Center has tried to address of
few of the myths that we women always hear. Please tell us which ones
are true and which ones we can tell our mothers or our daughters are
false!
Myth #1: Birth control pills cause infertility and cancer.
Dr. Patti Ross of the Health Science Center says: Birth control pills
do not cause infertility, nor do they cause cancer. There have been
hundreds of studies that have been done that have shown that there's no
correlation between infertility and oral contraceptive, or cancers --
especially breast cancer which women fear so much today.
Myth #2: A woman in her 30s should get a pap smear every year.
Once you're 30 years of age, if you have not had cervical cancer and
you've had three normal pap smears and you're not a smoker, you do not
need a pap smear every year. You can have a pap smear every three
years.
Myth #3: A woman needs to go off birth control pills for at least three
months before trying to get pregnant.
Absolutely false. And this has been a myth for some time. It is not
necessary to have a rest period before you begin to get pregnant. You
can start trying after you stop the birth control pills.
Myth #4: A woman cannot get pregnant during her period.
Nothing is impossible. Remember, sperm lives up to seven days in the
cervix, so if you were one of those individuals that had intercourse on
the seventh day of your menstrual cycle, and then you ovulated exactly
on the 14th day, it is possible that sperm might meet that egg and it
might fertilize.
Myth #5: A woman's mother is the best indicator for when a woman will
begin menopause.
Actually this is something very interesting, but really a woman's
menopause does not depend on that of their mother. They are not related
genetically. When you have menopause really depends on how many eggs
you have at birth and then subsequently at puberty.
These are just a few of the old wives' tales that most every woman has
heard at some point in her life. If you have heard some other good
ones, let me know. I will find out if they are true or if they are just
a myth and I will let you know right here on my East Texas Blog!