Pregnancy seems strange. Yes, I know it is natural/beautiful/necessary for our continued existence. But even our most goddess-embracing sisters have to admit that it’s a little freaky to have a human being grow inside of you – even if it is whispered in the dark of night, under a rock, and only to fairies that don’t exist.

Or maybe I’ve just heard too many pregnancy myths that make the act itself seem weird. After all, won’t your cat kill your unborn child? And who hasn’t heard that bumpy rides can cause labor/you can tell the gender of your baby by the way you are carrying/you lose a tooth with every pregnancy? But what’s true, what’s false, and what’s just weird old wives tales designed to scare teenagers out of sex? Here’s a look at some of the best pregnancy myths out there – and the truth behind them.

(Ultimately, of course, consult and take the advice of your doctor.)

If you raise your arms while pregnant, the baby will get the umbilical cord tangle around his or her neck.
This is FALSE. (And quite scary, I might add.) When an umbilical cord gets wrapped around a baby’s neck, it is because of the baby’s movements, not momma’s. You can twist, shout, and do the chicken dance and it will not affect the cord or your baby. It might give her an unexplained aversion to bad dance moves later in life, but I speculate.

Your cat can hurt your unborn baby.
This is FALSE, and not just because it sounds like Stephen King made it up. You can snuggle up with Fluffy as much as you’d like and your baby will be fine. However, pregnancy is a good time to pass off changing the kitty litter onto your significant other. Cat “number two” can contain the parasite toxoplasma gondii, which can cause deformities in developing fetuses. So as long as you lay off hanging around cat crap, you should be fine. (I know, it will be hard, right?)

Sex will harm the baby.
Happily, this is also FALSE. There is no evidence that sexual activity can hurt your unborn baby. You may not want to be hanging from an unsecured sex swing or performing otherwise acrobatic sexual feats. But the actual act itself is fine. In fact, evidence shows that it is even more enjoyable for you, as increased blood flow to the pelvic floor can enhance orgasms. There are some conditions that do make sex during pregnancy an issue – be sure to consult your doctor to learn if you have them.

You can tell the sex of the baby by the way you are carrying.
This is FALSE. Other than using ultrasound or amniocentesis, you cannot tell if you are going boy or girl by simply looking at the way you are carrying him/her. According to one expert, “Babies are carried differently based on their presentation (breech, vertex, transverse), their position (anterior, posterior), their gestational age and weight, maternal weight and stature and the mother’s parity (whether or not this is her first or eighth baby).”

You are more likely to go into labor during the full moon or stormy weather.
And this is also FALSE. Sure, my cousin the maternity nurse may disagree, but there is no scientific evidence that a full moon will send you into labor. Labor is caused by hormones and hormones alone. As for stormy weather - the stress of perhaps riding out a tornado in a bathtub could cause your hormones to trigger labor. So false – barring tornados, hurricanes, blizzards et al.

Image: scvimagery

NASA is about to commit an eco-sin on a galactic scale.

On October 8th, in search of water, NASA is going to bomb the Moon.

Water on the Moon, you ask? Yes, scientists think there might be evidence of moisture found in the debris plume (which will, by the way, be visible from Earth). I admit, this irks me; I find it strikingly arrogant. Exploration is one thing, but the Moon doesn’t belong to the United States for benefit and exploitation.

Even if water is found, shuttling it back to Earth is an inconceivably ridiculous prospect, and colonizing the place seems just plain silly. Let’s fix Earth’s problems first – including conserving our own water sources – before setting forth on destructive (and expensive) forays into the Solar System.

Dare this blogger wax sentimental, but the Moon is a celestial body revered by Earthlings of all cultures, inspiring poets, shamans and lovers across the globe. Disrespectfully viewing the natural world as naught more than raw materials has already taken us too far.

Does science rule all? Or are there some ecological lines we should never cross?

Image: Flowery Luza

It’s hard to imagine in our highly-scheduled age, but there once was a time without ticking clocks and calendars. Rather, we counted the passing of days via simple observation – watching the Sun and the Moon.

Instead, our wacky Gregorian calendar marks time such that we rely on mnemonic devices (30 days hath September…). On the other hand, marking time by the moon is undeniable. Either it’s new or full, waxing or waning. We only have to look up at night to see it.

And each moon has its own season, depending on where you live. Place-dependent and based on personal observation, renaming the Moons is a fantastic way to forge a deeper connection with the particularities of nature in the place that you live.

Call it natural time. And make it playful.

I happen to live in a fairly lush canyon in northern Arizona, so here are my Moons.

January: Icy Moon
February: Flooding Creek Moon
March: Cherry Blossom Moon
April: Iris Moon
May: Planting Moon
June: Scorching Moon
July: Monsoon Moon
August: Blackberry Moon
September: Harvest Moon
October: Moon of the Colored Maples
November: The Moon of Woolly Sweaters
December: Long-Nights Moon

Tell us where you live and how you name your Moons!

Image: Envios