What/ What not to eat??

[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.