Superstitions Surrounding Babies

In one way or another, since the dawn of mankind, superstitious beliefs have touched all of our lives. And whether or not we actually believe any of those often repeated “old wives tales”, superstition still has the power to make us stop and think…just to be on the safe side. After all, those beliefs have been handed down from generation to generation, century after century, so there must be some truth in them – must there not?

As children we are told that finding a four-leaf clover in a field will bring us good luck, crossing our fingers while making a wish is sure to make it come true and an “apple a day” will the keep the doctor away.

But even before we are born, safe and secure in the womb, superstition is rearing its mysterious head and affecting our future lives; or so our ancestors strongly believed not too long ago.

There can be few adults in the world that have not heard the saying that if a pregnant woman is carrying her child high it will be a girl, and conversely if carried low a boy will be born. Interestingly, there is also another belief on the same theme. If the child is born while the moon is rising it will certainly be a girl. But beware! If that child is born at midnight, it will have the ability to see ghosts!

However, the expectant mother could, by following a couple of tried and tested customs, ensure that the infant would be a boy or girl as desired. By placing a knife under the mattress a boy would certainly born, and by substituting this for a frying-pan a girl would be delivered. While on the subject of the “birth bed”, it is worth noting that the pain of childbirth would be eased considerably by the simple act of placing an axe on the floor beneath the bed.

Once the confinement was over, and the child safely born, there were further rituals that our superstitious forbears felt obliged to adhere to. It was customary to stroke the newborn infant with a rabbit’s foot. Because rabbits are born with their eyes open, it was thought that the animal possessed special powers; and this, combined with its powerful hind legs – which touch the ground before its fore legs – gave the animal an almost magical status. However, to own a truly lucky rabbit’s foot, it would have to have come from an animal that had been killed by a cross-eyed person at the time of the full moon.