Dallas woman to perform sword swallowing at 9 months pregnant

DALLAS, TX -- Sword swallowing is a daring feat in itself. But one north Texas woman is adding a whole new degree of difficulty to it, reports KTVT in Dallas.

Veronica Hernandez, 27, of Dallas, will be one of many performers at World Sword Swallower's Day on February 28 in Grand Prairie. But what makes Hernandez's performance particularly unique is the fact that she'll be nine month's pregnant with her second child.

Hernandez says the blade goes down the esophagus, passes by the heart and between the lungs to her stomach. But she says the tip is dull.

"It basically is knowledge of the human body and what it is capable of," she said.

And while Hernandez says it took her two and a half years to master sword swallowing, doing it while pregnant presented new challenges.

"Being pregnant you have to take in your posture, the difference in weight from my belly and you have to remember all of this while you're preparing to pose and get your body in alignment with the sword." she said. "You have to make sure it's absolutely straight."

Hernandez has a daughter who's 14-months-old. She says she didn't try sword swallowing when she was pregnant the first time, but now she says she's learned to adapt. She said another pregnant sword swallower showed her how.

"I've even talked to my chiropractor and my doctor," she said. "They've all said you know what you're doing."