I love that Fiji has superstitions about anything and everything, even though some of those superstitions are just downright weird.

Seeing that my maternity leave is coming up and I’ve been going through months of people telling me about what I should and shouldn’t eat/do/wear for superstitious reasons, I decided to ask around to see what the weirdest superstitions are when it comes to expecting mothers.

Then again when it comes to superstitions, there will always be a group of naysayers that think we shouldn’t be believing those things, but I guess it all depends on how much you believe in them, you know? Like if you believe in them enough, they actually start manifesting in real life.

All that aside, here’s a list of some pregnancy superstitions in Fiji that you’ve given me.

Hiding Your Pregnancy Can be Harmful to Your Loved Ones

Now, this is a common one, especially here in Fiji and personally, I think it’s something that our seniors made up to encourage young mums to not keep their pregnancies a secret too long because of the health complications that it can cause when they’re trying to hide it.

There have been some cases where people have gotten sick because a young mum was hiding her pregnancy, but most people would say that those were just cases of pure coincidence.

Laying On Your Back While Pregnant Can Make You Have Twins

When I was pregnant with my firstborn, my grandmother used to use this one on me all the time. Seeing that we had a history of twins in our family, it used to scare the bejesus out of me. I don’t know if this is as common as some other entries on this list, but it sure as heck is one of the weird ones.

Smelling Cat Piss Can Cause a Mum to Have a Difficult Delivery

Drix gave this superstition this morning and I thought he was crazy because I had never heard of this one before. If you know about this one as well, please tell me how it originated, because I need to know how and why lol

The Shape of Your Baby Bump Can Determine the Gender of Your Baby

I’m pretty sure every expecting mum has come across at least 3 times people instantly told them what the gender of the baby was just by looking at their baby bump. For example, if the baby bump is big and round and if you can see the bump even when the mum is facing her back to you, then it’s a girl. If the bump is pointier and small, it’s a boy. The reasoning behind this was that girls need more space than boys do, but you know what? I still have yet to come across someone who got this wrong so I guess there is a little bit of truth behind this one.

Never Sit by the Door While You’re Pregnant as it Delays Pregnancy

This one I’ve also never heard before, but if you know why this is, let me know in the comments.

Wearing Necklaces While Being Pregnant Can Cause the Baby to Choke on the Umbilical Cord

This is a very rare one as I’ve only heard it once or twice in my life, but it’s not as common as I thought it was. I’ve actually asked a few friends about it and most of them have never heard about this or even know too much about it. Apparently, it has to do with the baby imitating the look of the necklace around your neck with its umbilical cord. It’s a pretty scary thing to think about which is probably why it’s on this list.

If you know of anymore, let us know in the comments.