Your baby's overdue? Don't phone the midwife - call the curry house

I was tickled to read about the woman who gave birth during her own dinner party and managed to steer her guests in the direction of dessert before being taken away in an ambulance. If anyone had an excuse to shirk their duties as a hostess, it would be her. One interesting aspect of the story was the debate as to whether the curry served up for the main course was likely to bring on the birth. This is an old wives’ tale of the first order. But is it true?

Old Wives Tales

• If your baby is late, a good hot curry will bring on labour. Actually, this is true. It's something about the proximity of the bowel to the uterus in a pregnant woman, coupled with the aggravating effect of spicy foods.
• If you suspend a wedding ring over a pregnant woman’s bump, a clockwise swing denotes a boy while an anti-clockwise swing heralds a girl. Who makes these things up? Actually you will find this to be correct – but only around 50 per cent of the time.
• Your baby is most likely to be born just before the new moon. Weird, but statistically correct - something to do with the gravitational pull of the Earth.
• If your bump is all out in front, you are having a girl, while an all-round bump heralds a boy. Utter rubbish. The only certainty is that your baby will be baby-shaped.