By Daniel Martin
Thousands of mothers-to-be still swear by old wives' tales such as tucking into curry or drinking raspberry tea to bring on labour, a survey has found.
Many others stick to implausible notions such as believing that drinking coffee during pregnancy can harm their baby's skin.
And one in eight believe the myth that they are having a boy if they are carrying the baby "all at the front".
More worryingly, there is huge confusion over which foods are, or are not, safe during pregnancy, according to the poll of 1 200 women carried out jointly by the charity Tommy's and Johnson's Baby.
Tommy's midwife Sharon Broad said: "Eating curries or drinking raspberry leaf tea will not, unfortunately, induce labour. There is no evidence to support this. I still speak to many women, however, who continue to eat spicy food and take raspberry leaf tea in late pregnancy hoping that either of the two will bring on labour."
About 62 percent of pregnant women are unsure what types of cheese they can eat. Guidelines say they should avoid soft cheeses such as brie and blue cheeses such as Stilton - but they can eat hard cheeses like cheddar.
About 56 percent do not know what kind of fish they can have. Tommy's say marlin, shark and swordfish are completely out; and they should limit the amount of tuna and oily fish because of their mercury content.
Almost half are confused over how much caffeine they can drink. They should not drink more than 200mg a day - two cups of tea or instant coffee, one cup of filter coffee, five cans of Coke, or a bar of plain chocolate.
Around 40 percent do not think they can start exercising if they were not active before the pregnancy, and 70 percent think women who have exercised before can carry on with knee bends and lunges - even though this is not advised.
Broad said: "Pregnancy can be an excellent reason to start exercising, but it's important to start off slowly. Exercise will help your body to be in the best possible shape to cope with labour and giving birth."
Model Penny Lancaster Stewart said: "Sometimes it's difficult to know what information is best to follow. There are so many old wives' tales on pregnancy out there." - Daily Mail