What not to eat?

[kitten76]

Oh what fish are classes as deep sea fish? Noooo not Oysters! I LOVE Oysters Kilpatrick!

Oysters kilpatrick are cooked so as long as you eat them when its freshly made I dont think there would be a problem. But if your unsure avoid them until you can confirm with your OB. I too love fresh oysters but cant have em. At least the summer brings on all the yummy stone fruits

I was also told anything containing raw egg or partially cooked eggs.

[Serenitylee]

So no eggs unless they are completley cooked. So that would mean i cant have my eggs on toast with runny yolk

I bought a book last night so will start reading the things not to eat

[blondedoctor]

Re fish and mercury levels, it is only the long lived carnivores that are a problem as mercury is a metal that bioaccumulates, as in it stays within the body and doesnt get expelled with other waste products. Being a deep sea fish does not necessarily increase the amount of mercury it carries, but then many of the deep sea ones are carnivores anyway because of the lack of vegetation down there.

If you have to eat shark, salmon and tuna I would keep it to less than once a week. Port Phillip Bay is very high in mercury and the authority there reccommends that adults eat bay fish less than twice a week for that reason.

[Serenitylee]

Hi

I went to the doctor today and got a referral to a Gyno and also talked to her about what foods not to eat. In Tassie she said we are safe regarding fish, but she wouldn't recommend eating Flounder as they have a tendancy to be high in Magnesium. Other then that is was soft cheese which you guys mentioned and the obvious things like caffeine and salt and junk food etc.

[mbear]

McDonalds Sundaes......i had one (strawberry flavoured....i remember !!) when pg with DD#1.....i was throwing up 6 hrs later and didnt get a wink of sleep that night.

[queenbee]

I stayed away from deli meats, sushi, diet drinks and made sure everything I bought was really hot!! But I ate ham etc after 12 weeks was up. It's up to the individual really and how you feel about things. My Mum ate EVERYTHING 30 years ago and I was ok

[blondedoctor]

Thats right QueenBee - we are such an information rich society now and I think it can sometimes make us more paranoid than safe. But then there were more pregnancy and birthing complications a few generations back so I guess its better to be safe than sorry

[queenbee]

you are right, better to be safe than sorry for sure. i will say that everything is panic in society now though

[queenbee]

Other then that is was soft cheese which you guys mentioned and the obvious things like caffeine and salt and junk food etc.

yes i stayed off caffeine through entire pregnancy

[MummyNaomi]

Hi Guys - I posted a similar response with regards to someones questions about prawns, but I asked my OB about things like this early in my pregnancy - he put into context for me that he has been an OB for over 30 years, delivered thousands of babies and has only ever seen 2 cases of listeria. He advised that it is all about food hygiene. If you are preparing the food yourself and know where its been (eg not left on a benchtop lukewarm for hours) it should be fine. He advised that with things like cooked chicken and seafood, if they are refridgerated right away (while hot) and not left to 'fester' lukewarm and wrapped appropriately (airtight) then go for it, obviously dont eat it after its been in the fridge for days on end.

If your own kitchen is clean and your food hygiene standards and storage are good, then trust it

The only thing I was told to avoid are chinese buffets where the food is sitting lukewarm in baymaries all day and food that has been in and out of the fridge and subject to multiple temperature changes and food that I am not sure has been stored appropriately. He even advised the soft cheeses are fine straight out of the fridge (not left on a cheese platter at room temperature at a party) - providing they are pasturised (most australian cheeses are, the imported ones are more likely to be unpasturised). There are lots of mixed messages, so if you are unsure, you have to do whats right for you.

There does seem to be 'Listeria Hysteria' and this is really confusing to pregnant woman and at times it seems you cant eat anything - look at the stats of how many pregnancies are affected, its miniscule, so if you are taking care, there should be nothing to worry about

However, if you are worried - then avoid stressing yourself and dont eat it. I'm not a health professional, just passing on answers to similar questions I have had answered

Best advice, sit down with your OB or qualified care giver and ask them about all the foods you have concerns about. If you followed every list on every website you'd be struggling to put a meal together, which is why I talked to my OB, to try to seperate the fact from fiction

I have avoided alcohol during my pregnany - all these christmas functions make me want a glass of wine (why do we always want what we cant have?? hahahha)

I also agree with Dee with regard to the medications, I have also asked about those and paracetamol (panadol) is fine, and for hayfever sufferers like me Polaramine is great, it comes in a low dosage of only 2mg which is enough to sort my hayfever out, without the drowsyness affecting me. In fact the chemist recommended this was probably the only medication to help with hayfever, runny nose etc while pregnant

Most of the Womens Hospitals in each state have a helpline or health information service if you are unsure about medications etc, so this is a good way to get answers between OB appts from a health professional

Cheers
Naomi