Tell Me About A Pregnancy "Rule" That You Decided Not To Follow When You Were Expecting

From no raw fish to no soaking in hot tubs, pregnancy is chock full of guidelines.

When I became pregnant, one of the first things I discovered is that there are a whole lot of so-called "rules."

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Sure, you've probably heard the obvious pregnancy "no-nos" like no wine, no raw fish, and no going into hot tubs, but there were a lot of unexpected rules I hadn't heard of. For example, whitening your teeth, getting Botox, and even eating tuna fish seemed to be "off-limits."

Over the course of my pregnancy I've done lots of my own research and consulted my doctor often to determine what I'm personally comfortable with. For example, while some literature will tell you that eating undercooked eggs is a no-go while pregnant, I decided that I felt comfortable enough with the occasional runny egg yolk.

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Reading books like Expecting Better by Emily Oster and Bringing Up Bébé by Pamela Druckerman has made me realize that some conventional pregnancy "no-no's" don't actually hold much weight according to actual data. 

We all have different comfort levels and risk tolerances, so who is anyone to judge? So I want to know, what is the common pregnancy advice or rule(s) that you personally chose not to follow and why?

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Maybe you've decided to get a permanent tattoo during your pregnancy, even though people might advise against it.

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Or perhaps you have the occasional turkey sandwich without any guilt, despite the fact that deli meat is said to be a no-go.

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Or maybe you've been keeping up an exercise routine beyond the 20-week mark, when some will advise against core-focused exercises and heavy lifting.

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So, tell me about your pregnancy journey and the "rules" that you've decided you weren't going to follow. What were your favorite resources (books, podcasts, websites, and more) that drove your decision-making? Your responses could be featured in a BuzzFeed Community post. And if you prefer to stay anonymous, please feel free to share in the Google Form.