Mei: You’re actually going to the funeral tomorrow?
Arjun: Yes. Why?
Mei: Because Priya is pregnant! You can’t take her to a funeral. Everyone knows pregnant women should stay away from funerals. Negative energy, spirits… you really want to take that risk?
Arjun: “Everyone knows” is usually where my scientific alarm bells start ringing.
Mei: Laugh all you want. My grandmother never allowed pregnant women anywhere near funerals. She said the unborn baby is especially vulnerable.
Arjun: Vulnerable to what exactly?
Mei: Spirits. Negative energy. The atmosphere of death.
Arjun: Okay, but what does “negative energy” mean here? Is it radiation? A chemical? A microorganism? Something we can measure?
Mei: Not everything has to be measured, Arjun. Some things are beyond science.
Arjun: Fair enough. But if we’re saying something can harm a baby, we need some reason to believe it actually does. Otherwise, how do we distinguish a genuine danger from a tradition?
Mei: Because generations of people followed it.
Arjun: Generations of people also believed that eclipses could make food poisonous. Tradition tells us what people believed; it doesn’t automatically tell us what is biologically true.
Mei: You scientists always want a study for everything.
Arjun: For medical claims? Pretty much, yes.
Mei: My aunt went to a funeral when she was pregnant. Her baby was born with complications.
Arjun: And that’s exactly where our brains can fool us. The complication happened after the funeral, so it feels connected. But how many pregnant women attended funerals and had completely healthy babies? We don’t remember those stories because nothing dramatic happened.
Mei: Hmm. So you’re saying coincidence?
Arjun: I’m saying we shouldn’t assume causation just because one event happened before another. Pregnancy complications have many known causes—genetics, infections, maternal health, placental problems, nutrition, and so on. There isn’t good evidence that being at a funeral exposes a fetus to supernatural harm.
Mei: But funerals are emotionally heavy. Pregnant women shouldn’t be stressed.
Arjun: Now that is a much more reasonable concern. Severe or prolonged stress can affect health, so if Priya is emotionally overwhelmed, she might reasonably decide not to attend.
Mei: See? So my grandmother was right.
Arjun: Not quite. She may have arrived at a sensible precaution for a completely different reason.
Mei: Explain.
Arjun: Imagine the funeral is crowded, hot, and emotionally exhausting. Priya is eight months pregnant and already uncomfortable. She could feel faint, tired, or distressed. Those are real concerns. But that’s very different from saying a spirit might harm the baby.
Mei: What if the traditional explanation is simply a different way of describing something we don’t understand yet?
Arjun: That’s possible in principle. But then we’d need evidence that there is actually something there to understand. Otherwise, we’re filling an unknown with an explanation we can’t test.
Mei: You really would argue with my grandmother.
Arjun: Absolutely not. Your grandmother scares me.
Mei: Finally, some wisdom.
Arjun: But seriously, I wouldn’t tell Priya, “Ignore the tradition.” I’d tell her, “Make the decision based on your comfort and actual health risks.”
Mei: So if she feels uncomfortable going, you wouldn’t pressure her?
Arjun: Of course not. A belief doesn’t have to be scientifically proven for someone to choose a personal ritual that makes them comfortable. The problem starts when we tell every pregnant woman that something terrible will happen if she doesn’t obey it.
Mei: That’s actually different from what my family says. They don’t say, “You might be uncomfortable.” They say, “Don’t go, or something may happen to the baby.”
Arjun: And that’s the part I’d question.
Mei: You know, when I was pregnant with my first child, my mother wouldn’t let me cut my hair during certain days either.
Arjun: Did your hair survive?
Mei: Barely. It was an absolute disaster.
Arjun: There we have it. Finally, scientific evidence.
Mei: Don’t get carried away.
Arjun: Sorry. One study at a time.
Mei: Still, I think you’re too quick to dismiss traditions.
Arjun: And I think you’re too quick to treat traditions as medical advice.
Mei: Maybe there’s a middle ground.
Arjun: There usually is.
Mei: So tomorrow, if Priya wants to attend the funeral, you’ll go with her?
Arjun: Yes. I’ll make sure she has a chair, water, doesn’t stand around for hours, and can leave whenever she wants.
Mei: And if she decides not to go?
Arjun: I’ll respect that too.
Mei: Even if she says it’s because of spirits?
Arjun: I’ll respect her choice. I just won’t tell her the spirits are scientifically confirmed.
Mei: Fair enough.
Arjun: And I’ll make one compromise.
Mei: What?
Arjun: If your grandmother is there, I’ll behave.
Mei: Good. Because that is the one supernatural force I don’t question.
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