How strict are you with the pregnancy food 'rules'?

[lady_neon]

Kind of rant, genuine questions.

For the first few weeks, I was super careful. No deli meats, no soft cheese, no left overs, no pre-made salads, no alfafa or bean sprouts and everything else you're told you can't eat.

Now I've relaxed a little (or some may say a lot). I haven't had any soft cheeses (but I'm lactose intolerant, so that's a no thanks anyway); I'm trying to avoid/limit fast food chains like Subway, Red Rooster (I've only had a toasted hot sub, and a couple baguettes); I've had a couple under cooked eggs (but not runny); I'm rarely eating salami's and only if they're piping hot in a pasta etc; I'm eating fresh cut ham & only the day I by it (my IGA cuts it in front of you); and I'm eating leftovers every day for lunch (I cooked them, I know they're safe and gone straight into the fridge within an hour of cooking and reheated till scalding).

I know there are risks. But how small are they, really? Is it only me that is so relaxed? How many cases of Listeria are there actually reported in a year.. when was the last time I or anyone I knew had Listeria (never..)? Personally I find it all a bit exxagurated. Sure we need to be careful as our immune systems are down. I get that. How many of our parents ate all of those things.. and nothing went wrong. For those who did have something go wrong, is it even a big enough amount to be considered a statistic? People are throwing at me 'but babies and women died all the time in childbirth'. Yes, in childbirth. But otherwise healthy pregnancies, right? Are we causing/is there a link in allergies do to non exposure in utero?

I feel like so many women are judging me and accusing me of not caring about my baby by eating what I am eating. Am I the only one that thinks it is just blown way out of proportion. I know it's a 'risk'... so is everything else! Breathing is a risk, there's bacteria in the air. Drinking water is a risk, there's bacteria in that too. Kissing your partner is a risk, they have bacteria in their mouth. Typing on a keyboard all day's a risk, that's loaded with bacteria. Talking on your mobile phone is a risk, the mouth piece has more bacteria than a toilet seat! I could go on...

[Maruschke]

I eat whatever I want. I take the same precautions in pregnancy as I would when not pregnant, but if I want subway, I eat it, and if I want cheese, I eat it.

[lady_neon]

I eat whatever I want. I take the same precautions in pregnancy as I would when not pregnant, but if I want subway, I eat it, and if I want cheese, I eat it.

OMG I'm not the only one!

[little_O]

i know what you mean about the restrictions but i figure for 9 months of my life i'll put up with it. THAT being said:

My GP said that WELL cooked salami, soft cheeses etc are fine to eat, so i have no qualms with that.
She also said that freshly cut ham is generally safe, or bake your own and freeze, which i find works ok.
Left overs i will eat the next day (home cooked of course) but not generally after that.

For me the risk of food poisoning from fast food places is actually pretty common so i have avoided them, the same with some restaurants with salads etc. I think we need to have varied diets for the baby's sake as there is proof that it will help them be less fussy eaters after, so i still try and have a varied diet.

I actually have never heard of the alfalfa sprouts and bean sprouts being bad....not that i've actually eaten any this pregnancy....what risk do they have??

I think you need to just have common sense with it because at the end of the day you dont want to put the baby at risk for the sake of indulging in brie...lol. You dont sound like you have been going too crazy anyways and to be honest i found the the stage of pregnancy you are at now the hardest for food. You eventually get in the swing of it and you dont care so much HTH!

xxx

[glenny_c]

Count me in as well!! I eat what I want, within reason. The only things I'm really extra vigilant about is exposure to 2nd hand smoke and I don't touch alcohol. Other than that, I'm sensible but yes I eat leftovers (if I know I've stored them properly etc) and if I fancy Subway I'll have it. Had prawn pasta the other night using frozen fresh prawns and ate it straight after it was cooked.

[sloane]

i use my gut (no pun intended!) instinct. i don't eat soft cheeses, sliced meats from the deli (but unusual to find one close to me where they slice it freshly - it's pretty much all pre-sliced) - unless hot, soft serve, oysters, pre-packaged salads.

but i do eat (piping hot) deli meats, salad in things like subway (if it's a high turnover place) and in the occasional burger. i have also continued to eat fish that may be high in mercury (although not more than once a week). i eat leftovers that i have cooked (or my mum) because i know how they were stored.

i think it's one of those things that it's hard to provide more than a guide to not eat certain things at all - by this i mean that care providers can't really say 'use your own intelligence not to eat anything completely silly', it's easier for them just to say we don't rec eating these foods at all. i hope that makes sense!

[Jellyfish]

I was pretty relaxed. I love cheese so actually had quite a lot. I don't generally eat take out so also didn't while pregnant. I ate left overs although usually tried to reheat on the stove (stews, casseroles, soups and such) as microwaves seem to hate me and always end up a mess. I guess you just have to ask what you can live with? If your baby died and it was potentially something you could have prevented how would you feel? All the statistics in the world probably don't matter when it happens to you, I doubt reminding yourself the risk was so small would be much comfort. It's a hard one but I think just common sense goes a long way, if you aren't sure where something has been or how it was prepared then I'd try to avoid but if you make it yourself you generally know the standards of your food/hygiene etc.

[Maruschke]

If the Brie is Australian, it is pasteurised anyway, so it is safe to eat.

[little_O]

Marischke: REALLY??? thats exciting. i never thought of that! Doesnt the mould present an issue though?

[*LittleMissSummer*]

I eat whatever i want. Most foods they say to avoid i don't generally eat anyways so its no biggie for me. But if i want subway ill eat it. though with DD i couldnt stand it but this pregnancy has been alright ive had it twice no probs.

But i take precautions if it doesn't look or smell right i will stay away from it. I went to DPs family reunion and the chef cooking the lunch had a massive pile of chicken on the table while she slowly cut it up making a curry and i refused to eat it. I got the worst looks and i was told to stop being silly but im sorry that chicken sat there for hours uncovered i wasn't taking any risks. No one got sick but i still couldn't do it.

[Pholi]

I'm pretty strict - I choose to avoid such easily avoidable risks.

The difference between general food poisoning, even from salmonella, and listeria, is that salmonella will cause obvious symptoms within a few hours to a day, and although salmonella can theoretically cross the placenta to affect baby directly,a s far as I'm aware, there is no evidence of death of the baby directly from salmonella. Obviously severe maternal D+V can risk the baby, but of course you would tell your mw/ go to hospital / see the Dr before the dehydration got so severe that baby was at risk from that. Listeria, however, does cross the placenta, and directly cause miscarriage and stillbirth, and because maternal symptoms can be very delayed (up to several months later) it can be too late for baby by the time you suspect that the flu-like symptoms you have might be listeria.

My mw told be there were three known cases of mc or stillbirth last year in WA from listeria. That's not a big number, the way I see it is, if I ended up being one of the few who'd baby died through a preventable disease, I would never forgive myself. The medical profession sees it the same way. They have to advise you of the risks, or they are guilty of negligence. It it then up to you to choose whether or not to take the risk.

I actually have never heard of the alfalfa sprouts and bean sprouts being bad....not that I've actually eaten any this pregnancy....what risk do they have??

Vegies and fruit can carry listeria on the surface, thus the recommendations to thoroughly wash all fruit and veg. The 'prewashed' bagged salads and sprouts are some of the worst contenders of carrying listeria, and because they're very difficult to wash effectively (wipe down every alfalfa sprout, anyone?), total avoidance is the recommendation.

[PumpkinZulu]

I just used common sense and my instincts throughout my pregnancy

[Miss.September]

I'm strict too. Saying that, I have eaten hot ham twice this pregnancy. But for me, well if something went wrong, I'd always question if it was something I'd done, so I do be careful and monitor what I eat.

I guess listeria is less common now because we are so aware of food hygiene practices and are careful.

[*LittleMissSummer*]

I just used common sense and my instincts throughout my pregnancy

Yeah that ^

Though i did/do avoid soft serve ice creams.

[lady_neon]

Of course I would feel bad if something preventable happened, I'd probably never forgive myself. But when I weigh up the possibility of that against having a fussy, allergic child - I come to the conclusion that there's a much, much higher chance of the fussy, allergic child due to non-exposure. And like I said, more bacteria on your mobile phone than a toilet seat. We all know not to lick a toilet seat (teehee) but how many of us are constantly on our mobiles?

I guess common sense isn't so common anymore, lol. I've only gotten take away from a high turnover place (the lettuce looks dodgy at Subway, no thanks), and I'm not a big take away eater anyway. I can count on both hands the amount of times I have it in a year.

Sigh. It just leaves you not knowing what to do!

[Heaven]

But when I weigh up the possibility of that against having a fussy, allergic child - I come to the conclusion that there's a much, much higher chance of the fussy, allergic child due to non-exposure.

Never heard of that one. I doubt you'd cause an allergy or fussiness just from not eating cheese or cold meat when pregnant!! I am not a very adventurous eater myself and my kids eat anything. It has way more to do with how and when you introduce solids than what you eat in pregnancy.

I get that there's bacteria everywhere etc etc but we're not talking about any bacteria, we're talking about listeria, which if you get can be fatal for your baby. So for me I knew it was a minute risk but still it wasn't too hard to avoid these things when pregnant, it was only for 9 months.

[Sagres]

I stuck to the rules I was following. Having said that the 'rules' I was following were from a government health department notice about people at high risk of being affected by listeria (elderly people, pregnant women) so it was factual 'rules' and didn't include some things that I think are a bit of here say and information from the grapevine rather than having much researched basis IYKWIM.
Also, I threw up and had 24/7 nausea all the way through both pregnancies so the mere thought of MOST foods made me want to hurl. So for me it was more of trying to find a small number foods I could stomach rather than ruling out foods. For example no way in the world I could have even looked and cold sliced meats *shivers*.

[lady_neon]

I get that there's bacteria everywhere etc etc but we're not talking about any bacteria, we're talking about listeria, which if you get can be fatal for your baby. So for me I knew it was a minute risk but still it wasn't too hard to avoid these things when pregnant, it was only for 9 months.

That's true, I didn't think of it that way Heaven.

I stuck to the rules I was following. Having said that the 'rules' I was following were from a government health department notice about people at high risk of being affected by listeria (elderly people, pregnant women) so it was factual 'rules' and didn't include some things that I think are a bit of here say and information from the grapevine rather than having much researched basis IYKWIM.
Also, I threw up and had 24/7 nausea all the way through both pregnancies so the mere thought of MOST foods made me want to hurl. So for me it was more of trying to find a small number foods I could stomach rather than ruling out foods. For example no way in the world I could have even looked and cold sliced meats *shivers*.

I get what you're saying Sagres, I guess what I'm saying is that could they possibly be exagurating a bit? Maybe not, but maybe so.