Rebekkah-- "One of the traditional superstitions is to not decorate the nursery, put up the crib, or have a 'shower' until after the baby is born. It's one of those 'G-d forbid' rituals... what if you miscarry, or there is a stillbirth, etc. My mother-in-law was a little nuts about that tradition and didn't even want to hear about what we had done/were doing to prepare for the birth. Jews usually send gifts AFTER the baby is born and don't throw a shower."

Meir-- "Don't buy baby gifts till the baby's born. Same thing for furniture and painting the nursery... I wouldn't call this superstition. There are a lot of good reasons for this... I suspect some people think it has to do with the evil eye but I think that came later, that those who bought gifts and had the baby die were even more upset when they had to do something with the gifts, etc., than they were when they had nothing. Worse yet if they had to look at the decorated nursery."

Amie-- "I was told at my baby shower that you are never supposed to say anything positive about the baby before his/her birth without repeating the phrase 'kina-hora' (spelling unknown) after the compliment. A little like a knock on wood thing or like not decorating the nursery before the arrival of the child. For example one 'compliment' might go like this: What with the two of you, your baby will be beautiful, (kina-hora). I'm not certain that this applies only to the pregnancy, though that is how it was given to me."

Jfer-- "Probably the biggest Jewish superstitions about pregnancy revolve around the "ayin hara," the evil eye which is ever-alert to good things it can ruin, a sort of anthropomorphic Murphy's Law. This reluctance to invoke an 'ayin hara' sometimes takes the form of not telling people about the pregnancy until it becomes obvious. Many also try not to prepare ahead of time for the birth of a baby any more than is necessary.

"Before my first child, I owned literally three bibs and a hat (I hadn't been able to resist completely!). He was born on a Friday, and we were supposed to come home from the hospital on Sunday, so before Shabbos, my husband and parents spent a frantic day running around buying a carriage and car seat. He wore nightgowns my mother had saved from me and my siblings. It wasn't until the week after he was born that we bought the crib, change table, and dresser. Most Jews I know, whether they're observant or not, practice some degree of this reluctance to accumulate baby things. Baby showers, for example, aren't really a 'Jewish thing,' for most.

"... Many women I know won't reveal the number of children they have unless they have to. Instead, they say something like 'I have many wonderful kids, keyn ayin hara' (there should be no ayin hara).

"It's easy just to dismiss these customs as old-world superstition. Of course, women who do these things still suffer miscarriages and other complications in pregnancy and after the children are born. If nothing else, though (and I'm not saying they're useless in themselves!), these little rituals remind us of how precious the pregnancy is. If we say 'the baby's due February 4th,' but then tack on a 'G-d willing,' maybe it helps to make us aware of how little actually IS within our control."

Jillysma-- "I am currently 2 1/2 months into my second pregnancy. My mother is furious that I am telling people that I am pregnant since I have not completed the first trimester... My sister waited until she was 14 weeks pregnant to announce her big news. I feel that I saw the heartbeat and that was enough for me as it was when I was pregnant with DD."

Brett-- "It also serves good purpose. My wife and I lost a baby late in the first trimester. Thank heavens we didn't tell our other kids (then ages 4 and 6) that she was pregnant before this. Our neighbor told her kids as soon as the test came back positive, and then lost the baby early. Very sad for the kids, and unnecessary."