During pregnancy, one feels extra responsible for the safety of the baby. So do others around the pregnant women. Hence, there is always a lot of advice on dos and don’ts during a solar eclipse. What is right and what is a myth? Let’s learn in this blog.

Avoid Direct Viewing of the Sun

Verdict: Right Advice

“Eclipse blindness” is a real thing. It’s never safe for anyone to view the sun for any length of time with a naked eye, because it could permanently damage the retina. It's important to never look directly at the sun, even during a solar eclipse, as it can cause permanent eye damage. Draw your curtains close. If you have thin curtains, you can hang thick bed covers over them for extra blockage.

Ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun can cause harm to both the expectant mother and her unborn child

Verdict: Right Advice

Ultraviolet (UV) rays are harmful. Please minimize exposure to UV rays by staying indoors or wearing protective clothing that covers the skin, especially during peak hours when UV radiation is at its highest.

Hydration is important during a solar eclipse

Verdict: Right Advice

Dehydration can be a concern for expectant mothers during a solar eclipse, especially if they are outdoors for an extended period. It's important to stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water.

Lie down straight in bed

Verdict: Wrong Advice

The belief that sitting or lying sidewise during a solar eclipse will cause the baby to have crooked limbs is totally unscientific and untrue.

Eclipses are a bad omen

Verdict: Wrong Advice

There is nothing in this celestial phenomenon that can cause harm. They are not inauspicious. In fact, on the contrary they centre the emotions towards inner peace. 

If pregnant women uses a knife during an eclipse, her baby will be born with a cleft lip

Verdict: Wrong Advice

This is absolutely incorrect. Perhaps, in olden times, our ancestors wanted to avoid accidents with sharp objects in the dark, hence such guidelines came up.

Pregnant women should not wear hair clips or safety pins (or red underwear!)

Verdict: Wrong Advice

Please feel free to style your hair or clothes as you like with as many pins or clips needed and wear what you wish to.

Animals have birth defects because they roam around in eclipses. 

Verdict: Wrong Advice

There is no proof of this at all.

Careful, you may get labour pains

Verdict: Wrong Advice

Please relax. This is entirely untrue. 

It is harmful to take a shower during an eclipse

Verdict: It’s good to take to a shower after an eclipse

There is no harm in bathing during an eclipse. It’s good to take a bath after the eclipse in case your body has absorbed some UV radiation. If the ecosystem has generated microbes during the sudden environmental change, a bath can remove your bacterial and viral load, thereby lowering your risk of infection due to bacterial growth

One must not eat during solar eclipse

Verdict: It’s up to you

Firstly, food cooked while an eclipse happens will be NOT poisonous or impure as some people say.

Since the environment gets confused with the change in light, human bodies might also feel a break in their rhythm leading to digestive issues. Also, lack of sunlight during the eclipse period also strengthens the bio-magnetic fields of the humans, which can cause chemical reactions in the body. Hence, elders advice that one bathes and eats after the eclipse is over. But, let’s clarify - there is no substantial evidence for stomach issues because of eating during an eclipse.

Good Practices for Pregnant Women during/after a Solar Eclipse

Eclipse is a very good time for mantra chanting and meditation.

• Meditate: Sit in a cool room, play soothing music and centre your thoughts. You can try Ram meditation or full moon meditation.
• Chanting / Japas (repetitive chanting of mantras): Santana Gopala Mantra, Mahamrityunjay Mantra and Shiva Panchakshari Mantra dedicated to Lord Shiva are chanted during the Surya Grahan period. But, you can choose any lines from the scripture of your choice and recite it.
• Keep a tulsi leaf in your mouth during the eclipse period. You don’t need to chew on it, just keeping it in your mouth will work wonders. The secret? Tulsi leaves have anti-radiation properties. A single tulsi leaf has the power to minimise or negate any negative effect of the eclipse. We bet you didn’t know this.  
• Cleanse your body with light pranayamas - Pranyamas like Nadi Shodhan Pranyama, Brahmari and deep breathing can bring deep calm to help you go deeper in the meditative space.
•  Practise Silence - Yes, it is a great way to centre your being during an eclipse. Just sit in one place, put calming music and go through the day mentally, as a witness. Let the day’s events pass like a slide-show in your mind. Don’t judge. 

Often feel confused about whose advice to follow in pregnancy? We are here by your side: The iMumz Womb Care Program offers daily yoga, lifestyle tips, and expert-led classes for making your womb a better place for your baby. It comes with a panel of coaches to be by your side and make your journey amazing.