There are a lot of ideas surrounding what can send a woman into labor. You’ve probably heard that eating spicy food can start labor or that going on a lot of walks can get things going faster.

We can consider a lot of what we've heard to be old wives' tales.

But the latest theory I heard is that the weather can influence and affect your pregnancy. I wanted to look into this to see just how true that is.


What You Need To Know

  • There are a lot of old wives' tales surrounding pregnancy and the weather

  • Temperatures can affect how safe you and the baby are

  • Barometric pressure changes can cause early labor

  • No one is in total agreement on the issue, but paying attention to the forecast toward the end of your pregnancy is a good idea

It seems that many aspects of the weather can affect soon-to-be moms.

The first being the temperature. Overheating and dehydration can be dangerous for both a mother and an unborn baby, so when the temperature heats up, it is important to take a break inside if you start to feel too hot and to drink plenty of water.

Another piece of our day-to-day forecast that can affect pregnant women is the barometric pressure. Although tracking a change in pressure can sometimes be difficult, there is a rule of thumb to remember the difference between high pressure and low pressure.

To remember, think of the phrase, "High = cool and dry, low = warm and wet." I learned that saying in earth science my freshman year of high school and have remembered it ever since.  

The changes in pressure between the outside and inside of your body can trigger symptoms inside of you.

The most common example that everyone can feel, not just pregnant women, is the change in your ears when you are on a plane. You can feel that plugged and popping sensation when you take off or land because the air pressure is changing around you.

There is a firm belief that falling barometric pressure (low pressure) can cause increased rates of spontaneous labor.

In one survey, three-fourths of labor and delivery nurses believed that weather affected labor. They came to this conclusion after spending hours working on a labor and delivery unit and said that it seems the labor and delivery floor gets a little busier when the weather gets bad.

Although not all scientists are in agreement that the weather can affect a due date, a lot agree it plays an important role. We can’t change the weather, but paying attention to the forecast near the end of your pregnancy is not a bad idea.

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