Forbidden Foods III: Spices and Strange Beliefs – Do Spicy Foods Cause Early Labor?

Is is really unsafe to eat spicy food in pregnancy?

“Don’t eat the chili!” a worried aunt tells her pregnant niece at a family dinner. “It will make the baby come early.” Similar warnings are heard around the world: avoid cinnamon, ginger, parsley, or saffron, lest they “provoke miscarriage.” For something as small as a pinch of spice, the fear can feel outsized. Yet these warnings persist across generat…