Old wives’ tales that baffle nurses!



Very few healthcare subjects bring up as many strange myths as pregnancy and childbirth. Some can be explained by science, but others continue to befuddle those of us who are supposed to “know better.” These days, most of it’s simply in good fun, but occasionally there will be a great-grandmother who absolutely believes in this stuff.


Here are a few of the more popular “words of wisdom” which have been passed down for generations. See if they baffle you as much as they baffle me!


Old wives’ tales that baffle nurses!


1. You are not supposed to cut a baby’s hair before he/she is a year old. (Because it will be shorter?!)


2. If you look at something unpleasant while pregnant, you’ll have an ugly baby. (Guess it depends on your definition of ugly?)


3. If you reach above your head while pregnant, it will wrap the cord around the baby’s neck. (This is an “oldie but goodie” that is still around.)


4. You must lose a tooth with each baby. (To keep track of how many kids you have?)


5. It’s important to satisfy cravings for eating clay, laundry starch, etc., when pregnant. (We now call this “pica” and know that anemia is a very real problem in these women.)


6. You can tell the sex of the baby by how s/he is “carried.” (Or just get an ultrasound?)


7. If you bury a knife in the yard, the labor pains won’t be so bad. (Anybody?)


8. You can tell the sex of the baby by looking at how a wedding ring swings when you hold it over your belly. (Fact is: If you hang a ring over any object or person it’s going to swing.)


9. If a pregnant woman experiences heartburn throughout the nine months of pregnancy, she’ll have a baby born with a full head of hair. (I cannot begin to figure the rationale behind this one!)


10. If your face gets fuller and rounder when pregnant, it means you’re going to have a girl. If your face is long and narrow, it’s a boy. (What if your face doesn’t change at all?)


 

5 rules for nursing students…from the 1970s!


Times they are a-changin’…or…er…are they? For those of you who are in nursing school and are aghast at some of the surprisingly dated rules you must abide by (white uniforms? Really??), take a look at this list of rules for nursing students from the 1970s as told by Scrubs Facebook fans who were there to live by them. Which one seems the most antiquated to you?


5 rules for nursing students…from the 1970s!

1.I learned to smoke, drink and swear (when needed) as a nurse. Nurses used to follow doctors down the hall with the patients’ charts and an ashtray — to keep the ashes from the cigars off the floor. – Patty

2.I graduated from a three-year school of nursing in 1973. We were still wearing white dresses. You had to wear a slip, white hose, white shoes and your cap. You could only wear a navy blue or black sweater. Your hair had to be up, you could only wear a plain wedding band, watch and stud earrings. - Nan

3.We were expected to give everyone backrubs at bedtime. – Lee Ann

4.I graduated in 1976. I remember mixing our own piggybacks in glass bottles (either 50cc or 100cc, D5W or 0.9 NACL), labeling them and hanging them ON TIME to my team of 28 patients on a busy med-surg floor in Chicago. The most people I was ever legally responsible for was 70! - Carol

5.Back when I was first in training, we were told to not use gloves unless absolutely necessary as it might make the patient think we thought they were dirty. I’m not kidding! I was also on an “isolation” unit with no toilets or sinks in the rooms. There was a large communal/dorm bathroom, but we had to use commode chairs in every room. Really I am NOT joking! This was 1975, in Terre Haute, IN. – Evalea Siverly