What/ What not to eat??

[first_time_mummy]

I was just wondering if anyone is really strick with what they eat.

I have had people tell me I cant eat almost everything.
I cant eat any deli meats, hams or processed sandwich meats.
I cant eat fish,prawns, or even sushi (even cooked chicken sushi.)
I cant eat salami, twiggies, hot dogs or anything.
Cant eat cheese.

It seems a little over the top, as I really do enjoy my food, and couldnt go without a cheese and ham sandwhich, or an occasional hot dog, or twiggy salami stick.
I feel so guilty when I eat these foods, but dont think I could live off just jam sandwiches

Does anyone else out there just eat what they feel like? Or do you follow the strict regime of what to eat ?
Is it okay to eat these foods? Is it just a big 'over the top' myth?

[Purple Penguin]

I'm 15 weeks pregnant and I too was told not to eat deli meats.. but i still have them about once or so a week... they tell you not to eat them because the bactieria in them may make you sick... i'm not sure what percentage of risk there actually is...
ham is fine in toasted sandwiches, the heat from cooking the meat kills the bacteria.
but i eat it uncooked...
Fish you can have once or twice a week i think, because of mercury levels, but that's deep sea fish... not sure about prawns, i don't eat them... i have been eating sushi though...
hot dogs should be fine because you cook them before you eat them, i love salami and there's no way i'm going without.

the cheeses you shouldn't eat are the soft cheeses like brie and camembert and all that... cheddar and tasty cheese are fine... the soft cheeses come with the risk of listerosis, which is a type of food poisoning...

HTH?!?

[first_time_mummy]

thankyou so much Sam, that makes me feel a lot better.
Cause ive been feeling terrible..
Im the same, I LOVE my salamis. And it was making me feels guilty for still eating them during my pregnancy.

[*TripleJ*]

i only found this out recently but with sushi its not the fish thats bad its more the rice because u dont know how long ago the rice was cooked and rice is really bad for bacteria growing if it isn't eaten straight away and hot

[shell101]

I LOVE ham! I take the approach that it is fine if you cook it. Most fish is fine, but not deep sea, like flake from fish n chip shop. You can eat it though, but it then means you shouldn't have any more fish for 2 weeks... So hard when you love your food isn't it!

[first_time_mummy]

... So hard when you love your food isn't it!

oh so very hard lol.
I havent really found myself eating a heap, but i seem to be putting on a bit of weight, especially round my arms, thighs and cheeks

[Melbournemumma]

The only things I avoid are deli meats, salami etc, soft cheeses, sushi and seafood (prawns etc). I also make sure that all my meat is cooked right through. This has been the hardest for me cause I'm a medium rare steak eater and to have to eat well done steak is a real pain. I am sooo looking forward to camanbert and a nice medium rare steak when Peanut arrives!

If you followed EVERYTHING they say you shouldn't eat you'd never eat! Besides in a country like Australia the risk would be much lower than in some other countries.

[Inertia]

Oh I had never heard of most of this stuff throughout most of my pregnancies. I love Ham and eat it heated and cold like crazy. I snack on cabanossi, my sangers still have cheese when I want it. I do avoid some fish though because of the mercury content. It has to be absoluely 100% deep sea for me to eat it, so usually thats flake, lmao. But I don't eat it often at all when pg just in case.

Its a "just in case" measure - and probably odd that i dont listen to it because I wont eat undercooked meat "just in case" of tapeworm, even though its rare in Australia.

But I love my food.

[Miss E]

I think it is a case of each to their own on this one (and many others).

Most of the warnings (ham, deli meats, soft cheeses etc) have to do with the risk of contracting listeria, which is very low. However, if you do contract it (from what I know) and get listerosis it is almost certain that your baby will get it which means the end of the pregnancy...

Personally, I have decided to take the better safe than sorry approach... Yes I love ham and deli meats and will have them on a pizza where I know they have been exposed to very high heats, but not in a toasted sandwich where they are usually only warmed up. The reason why deli meats are considered unsafe is that they are typically smoked rather than cooked which means they haven't been exposed to high enough heat to kill the germs.

I'm also really careful with mayonaise, eating salads when I'm out, making sure meat is cooked till there is no pink left and won't eat shell fish, cold meats, or sushi rolls (partly because of the rice thing, but also because they handle so much raw fish that the risk for cross contamination is really high).

I also haven't had any alcohol since I've been pregnant which is another one of these grey areas. For me, it's only 9 months of my life and if me going without means that I eliminate a risk (even a very small one) of harming my baby it's worth it. But I have also had a few people (mostly older women) patronise me for being so careful because the risks are so low. At the end of the day I think we all just need to do what feels right for us and not judge others for their choices...

[grub17]

i'm with ms excited... i haven't really found anything too restrictive...

you can't eat anything with raw egg like mayonaiisee or custards but those aren't exactly the most healthy food and i don't have lots so i've just cut them out. No soft cheeses, which are pretty much the same as mayo and custard, but i've been hitting the cheddar with wholegrain crackers.

as for fish, i'm not a huge fan but it's recommended to eat a couple of serves of non-deep sea during pregnancy cos of all that good omega3. we've had barra a couple of times and i have tinned tuna on crackers for a snack. in face i'd say this has become a craving for me

i do miss ham in a sanga but i just have a salad sandwich now instead, i find i don't really miss the meat anyway.

i wouldn't say i follow a strict diet but i'm very aware that i'm not eating for 2 at this stage, but one adult and one very tiny little tadpole like creature. I have cut back on my caffine ie tea because i usually have about 6 large cups a day and in these early stages that ain't good.

i was very overweight a few years ago and worked hard to lose 30kg so i'm conscious of wanting a healthy pregnancy with healthy weight gain (i think about 11 or 13kgs). and there's plenty of healthy options - i snack on apples and fruit and nut mix and lite jelly; have a big glass of chocolate skim milk every 2nd day; have extra broccoli, cauli and carrots instead of potatoes... we have the potatoes in their jackets to get the goodness from teh skin and always go for brown with rice/pasta/bread etc. I'd say DH and i already ate extremely healthy anyway and iddn't really eat from the "banned' list to start with.

with the weight gain i also think that depends a lot on your own body and fat stores and water retention and all that. so i won't be too tough on myself if i pop on more than i want... that just means i'll have to work a little harder to get back into shape afterwards.

i just try and think about everythign i put in my gob and whether it'll help the bubs. we've been on a long long road to get this far so i'm just trying to give it its best chance... it's the only thing i have control over iykwim?

not sure if that answers your question. in the end, everyone needs to do what's right for them and feels right for them. and i don't believe in depriving yourself, for me that just leads to a nasty binge later on!

[GoingtobebiginAsia]

I've been having what to eat dilemmas as well.

When I feel seasick (MS) I just don't want to eat Vietnamese food... which is all that's usually available. There is no fridge at work, so taking my lunch to work doesn't seem safe (even though it's only a few hours). The work canteen is cheap ... but it has a strong smell of fish sauce which makes me feel more seasick. Going without lunch makes me feel even worse.

So I've been driving down to a Western-style cafe and having toasted ham and cheese paninis... only to read toasting isn't going to kill the germs. Ugh!

My obstetrician told me to eat normally and avoid ice (because of handling issues) and shellfish, although he said prawns and crab was OK.

I half-feel that being careful should be enough, can't be bothered being a food Nazi ... but on the other hand if something I ate hurt the baby I just don't know if I could forgive myself.

[echidna]

I'm eating what I want, without stressing. I do avoid soft serve icecream and I just check that things are pasteurised. I get deli meats because they are cut fresh, and if it contained listeria, a lot of people would be getting sick not just pregnant ladies. I don't normally eat sushi, and I prefer dory, or basa or barra fish anyway. I don't eat it as often as I'd like to anyway. I eat ham, cold. I love ham and if I was going to get sick, I would have before I was pregnant. Things like chinese at a food court is what really should be avoided, because its been sitting in a warmer for some time. I avoid it normally anyway. I just try not to stress about what I'm eating, it only makes me feel worse, because my choice is limited and the stress makes me want to be sick.

[satya]

Just wanted to point out what the reason is for avoiding certain foods - Listeria.

It is a real risk and can kill your baby if you eat something with it in it and it passes through the placenta.

The danger was only discovered in the 80's therefore women of previous generations were not warned about it & but it did exist... their babies would've died and they would've been given no reason for it.

Pregnant women are more at risk of being affected by listeria. It can take many weeks for the bug to cause you trouble - so something you at containing it at 35 weeks can mean death to the baby if it's exposed to it on the way out at 40 weeks. Fact.

If you eat something affected by it you may not even know you have it - it can give you no symptoms at all, or flu like symptoms or gastro type symptoms.

People do still get listeria in Australia - babies are still born because of it & miscarriages occur because of it.

Not trying to scare you but you need to know the facts - our doctors are warning us about this for a reason & that is to protect our unborn children.

Heat destroys listeria but refrigeration does not.

Hot deli meats - say on pizza are fine. Cold are not.

Cold chicken is a big no no.

Anything with raw egg in it like mayo and other creamy dressings that contain it are out.

Salads that have not been washed thoroughly are a listeria risk. Only eat them if you know they've been washed properly.

Soft unpasturised cheeses are out but all others are OK.

Soft serve icecream & milkshakes made with them are also out because listeria bacteria can grow in the machines.

I'd suggest you ask your midwife for a fact brochure on it and read it thoroughly. Yes it's rare but wouldn't you just hate it if you and your baby became a statistic because you just had to have that thickshake or ham sanga.

And by the way many people could eat the same contaminated food but only one person be affected by it.

A major Australian supermarket had to recall their ham last year because of listeria so it is a very real risk in this country, rare but it is there.

[echidna]

I do cut down on my deli meats, and in my last pregnancy I cut down but still ate normally.

[Stevie]

i guess im the same as most woman here..
i dont eat deli meats.. of any kind, even if its heated.. i prefer the "safe than sorry" approach. up until yesterday i didnt eat ANY cheese at all.. which was a very VERY difficult thing for me, but the doc said hard cheese is ok, as long as its in the block and not already sliced or grated. (so i treated myself and brought a small block of cheese mm.. ) i didnt know about soft serve ice cream til i was about 8 weeks i think and when i was told i immediatly remembered haveing a maccas ice cream the week before and feeling So SOO bad. but now i havent gone near one. i dont eat fish at all anyway, but i do love my canned tuna and try to just stick to 2-3 small tins a week.
I didnt know abotu the custard (thank you grub17) i have an unopened custard in the fridge.. looks like hubby will be eating ti for me
i have tried very hard to stay away from caffiene i have an occassional ice break and maybe one cup of tea a day. i drink soft drink on occasion, otherwise its water or juice. as soon as i found out i was pregnant i stopped drinking alcohol. i will admit that the weekend before i found out i did have a few drinks with friends, nothing massive, but i still to this day feel incredibly guilty.
It is very hard to be good and eat right, but you have to remember that your growing a human, you are its only chance at a good start in life, and THAT in itself is worth being careful and going without

[Mumma2three]

Of course it's up to the individual but just wanted to say that I asked my cousin who's been a midwife for 10 years if she's ever seen listeria and she said only once in all that time and it was from a salad (as in tabouli or whatever, but a salad bar type salad).
I avoided some things but my GP told me in Australia our soft cheeses are pasturised so they're ok. I always ate them after checking the label, and making sure they're fresh. I also ate ham (out of severe cravings for it) and soft serve at macca's. These are all choices I made, and i was careful to make sure food was fresh. But I never ate packaged salads of any type, including the ones at Coles/Woollies. And definitely nothing from the coles deli xo