Food/drink to avoid

Just curious as to if anyone can tell me specifically which foods and drinks to avoid? And is it OK to drink say 3 drinks (beer) once a week? I am in the TWW and can never be too careful (I've had a VERY faint line on my HPT and feeling a number of symptoms, so Im quietly, and cautiously confident).

Thanks!

Hi Jessica,
Congratulations on your HPT result. There seem to be a million things you can't eat. I sometimes wonder how on earth I am going to remember them all but from memory and I know I'll miss heaps.... any unpasturised dairy products ie soft cheeses, fetta etc, soft serve ice cream, undercooked eggs, raw or undercooked seafood or meat, (all listeria risks). I believe that Australia is the only country in the world that recomends a very low achohol intake rather than avoiding it altogether but since I'm a Muslim and I never drink anyway I've really never looked into it. Caffiene is reckoned to increase your risk of miscarriage so you may want to cut down on that. I have to admit I still indulge in the odd latte but I'm only human. Also some essential oils and herbs are not recommended but I'm not sure which ones. MSG, retinol A, artificial sweeteners....
Fish may have mercury in it so only one serve a week.
Obviously smoking is a no-no but that's true at any time.
On top of all that there's the kitty litter danger, hot-tubs, x-rays.....
And... when you've remembered everything that you're supposed to avoid then you have to rember all the things you have to ensure you get enough of... iron, calcium, protien, folic acid, excersise, sex ;) .....
Sometimes I think that we have to be geniuses just to remember all the dos and don'ts.
In addition to the real dos and don'ts it seems that everyone is willing to share old wives tales with you.... ie if you eat lentils you will have a hairy baby.
I geuss I have left many things out but the other ladies should be able to add heaps and maybe direct you to some sites that will be usefull to you.
I hope you have a great pregnancy and a beutiful healthy baby.

Caffiene decreases your iron absorbtion rate, and also can cause addictive personalities in your child.
Apparently liquorice and aloe vera (eaten, you can use it on your skin) are bad because they are diuretics, so they can cause miscarriage. Any diuretics, laxatives, things that cause muscle spasms are no-nos as well. Also food from the deli, like olives and sun-dried tomatoees are supposed to be bad because of the risk of cross contamination from the soft cheese, but the jars and packed ones are ok.
No liver, because of the high amount of vitamin A.
They say even one alcoholic drink a week can be bad for your baby, but a few teaspoons in a trifle is ok every now and then. Alcohol is ok if it has been cooked at a high temp for at least ten minutes, so in sauces it's ok, but you're better off avoiding them unless you cook it yourself, so you know all the actual alcohol is evaporated, and you are just left with the taste.
Herbal teas: stay away from raspberry tea, cohash, slippery elm, ginseng and green tea – these may stimulate contractions.
Avoid pates and ready made salads, including salad bars.
Don't eat anything raw, except well washed fruit and vegetables.
There's a whole bunch of herbs and such you can't eat. Marshmallow root, wormwood, deadly nightshade (obviously) pennyroyal, anise, liquorice root. There's more, but I can't think of them offhand.

Don't use rosemary or cinnamon essential oils directly on your skin as they can raise blood pressure.

It's best to contact a professional naturopath before using any essential oils, and taking any herbs or natural remedies, at least consult your doctor before taking any herbal teas or such.

Hope that helps. Now you just have to remember it all :lol: LOL

Just a thought on the alcohol side of things that I read somewhere:

Your baby has a mucher smaller body mass than you, so if you are feeling slightly tipsy, your baby has probably already passed out!

Just something to keep in mind. Just think, at least you don't have to go over xmas and new years :)

On the main BellyBelly site there are a few informative articles on listeria and aromatherapy... have a look in the pregnancy section. They helped me a lot during the beginning of pregnancy to remind me what I should be doing...

Christy

Ohmygod! So many things to remember!!!!

Thanks for all the info, sad, but I am going to not drink anything. I dont drink much anyway, but I do enjoy 1 or 2 beers on the weekend. Never mind, its worth it! I did have 2 beers on Sat night so now I am stressing. What do you think? If I am pg, Im about 1month and a few days.

Did another HPT this morn with same result, pretty faint line, so going to docs tonight to put my mind at rest. Lets hope all the info you have given me I can put into place.

Jessica,
don't worry. My friend did the same (well, she got actually totally plastered while unknowingly pregnant). She asked her doctor and he said not to worry, if it's still there at such an early stage after binge drinking it's all ok. If you read "Up the Duff" by Caz Kook (sp?) she also had the same thing (4-5 drinks or so) and her OB told her not to worry as well. As long as you stop drinking as soon as you know, it should all be fine.

Snowy

Jessica, I know I may be going against what has already been posted, and not that I don't agree with that, but I didn't know I was PG until after week 5 and I stressed about it because I had drunk at least 1-2 bottles of wine/week in those first few weeks. My midwives told me not to worry too much... fetal alchohol syndrome happens with regular drinking, and I should not stop drinking altogether but cut down to one drink a week then to cut it out if I was concerned... too late I had already cut out alchohol as soon as I found out I was pregnant, but they told me not to worry too much about it. I have since had 4 glasses of wine thoughout the entire PG and everytime I feel guilty so I figure its not worth it. I don't even enjoy wine while pregnant, and I am a member of a wine club I love it so much... oh well.... waiting for another year after breastfeeding finishes, whenever that may be... lol!
But that is what I have done and decided... it really is up to the individual and all you can do is read all the information and make an informed decision for yourself accordingly....

Christy

Christy, I was the same only with cigerettes. I smoked almost a pack a week for the first three to four weeks, and then I found out, and gave up within three days. Just finished the pack I had (and I was in so much shock and stress that that didn't take long :D ) and just didn't buy anymore. Went straight cold turkey. And I've since found out that quitting cold turkey is really bad. Oh well. We've made it this far, can't be too bad.

Jessica, I wouldn't worry about what you have done up to now. My mum had seven kids, ate cheeses and fish and drank coffeee all the way through all her PGs. Mind you, food was healthier back then, but you can't change what you have eaten, only what you will eat in the future. As long as you haven't eaten anything that gave you food poisoning, or several tons of fish and liver in these last few weeks, you (and your baby) should be fine.

This may be a silly question, but I was wondering...

Okay, so I know soft-serve ice cream is bad because of the listeria risk, but how about drinks out of those soft drink machines like they have at Maccas and Subways and the like? :-k I'd never thought about it until I was sipping on a lemonade the other day.

Sorry to butt in on your thread Jessica! ;)

I hope not :-s ! I think it has to do with the listeria again and bacteria in the cream or dairy part of it...the soft drink machines are usually pretty free of bacteria that would be growing in the drinks themselves... I hope!

Christy

Yeah I would have to agree with Christy on this one :) I did a pretty broad google search and I couldn't come up with anything for soda machines of any kind. So I would say you are pretty safe on that one!

*hugs*
Cailin

Phew!! That's a relief LOL. Thanks guys :-)

soft drinks are far too sugary for any bacteria to survive!! :D :D :D :D

http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/681_1170.asp

From March of Dimes (non-for profit organization in the US for saving children/preventing birth defects). That should answer all questions re. pregnancy and alcohol. It also says that even as little as one drink a week has been shown to cause behavioural problems and lower intelligence in children.

I'm sorry - I feel very passionately about not drinking at all during your pregnancy (at least after you know you are pregnant).

What about tap water?

I am a big soft drink drinker, obviously want to cut that out now and replace with water, but I dont want to buy bottle water all the time!

Is tap water (in melbourne) OK to drink or should i invest in one of those filter jugs from kmart??

No more beer for me! And I am VERY proud to say I quit smoking 1 week before we conceived - isnt that timely!!

p.s. I cant stop noticing these cramps I am having - if anyone has more detail for me, most appreciated. They are pretty much like period pains but now more... direct? I wish I could explain them better. The are not strong, easily bearable and not comparable to period pain I have had before - should i expect them to slowly disappear over time?

I'm a bit paranoid about tap water and ice so when I'm feeling too cheap for bottled water I just boil a full kettle in the morning and drink from that through the day. I also make all my ice cubes from boiled water. They come out all sparkly that way. Ice cubes from unboiled/unfiltered water always have bubbles in them so you can spot them easily. I find plain water can get a bit boring so I drink heaps of herbal and green tea. Green tea has heaps of antioxidants in it so its quite wholesome. As far as the cramps go I had lots but they seem to have eased off a bit now.(12 wks) There is a thread about them somewhere. It seems that the price I have paid for minimal morning sickness has been lots of other pregnancy symptoms. So maybe if it isn't one thing its another.
Does anyone know how much caffiene hot chocolate has in it.

Well done on quitting smoking Jess, that's a big achievement :D And yes very timely!

I didn't know that soft drink was a problem during pregnancy or tap water for that matter... I think if you are worried you could talk to your doctor or filter / boil your water before you drink it.

As far as I knew, ordinary tap water is just fine! I've been drinking it every day! I can also tell you that I've had soft drink too! You don't have to cut out soft drink if you have it but obviously drinking water is a lot better as it doesn't have the sugar content (luckily I like water and drink quite a bit of it anyway). You just need to be sensible about your diet and avoid the foods that have already been mentioned in earlier posts.

I know that some herbal teas should be avoided - can't remember what ones specificially, but I have read that there are some that you shouldn't have whilst PG. I'm sure I've seen a post about them somewhere on the forums but am not sure where......

We have one of those Brita Filters and I must say, the water tastes a lot better if you filter it through them.

re. cramps - I have read somewhere, that it is the uterus stretching that you can feel, but am no medical expert, so not sure if that's true.

There is a guide about which herbs should be avoided during pregnancy at http://www.gardenguides.com/herbs/preg.htm. I usually stick to a fairly weak brew of the teas that I do drink even though they are considered safe. I have read conflicting reports about Ginger and Rasberry Leaf so I generally avoid them except for a small glass of ginger beer if I am feeling a little queasy which seems to chase it away totally.
The tap water is probably fine to drink but its a bit hard for me to break the habit of a lifetime. And it only takes a couple of minutes for the kettle to boil.

Seriously...just wanted to say...don't stress so much! Often that can be more damaging for bubs than worrying about every little thing that can go in and out of our body. Sure I totally understand as I was exactly the same as a first time mum...but I think I have chilled out HEAPS since then and probably won't be as concerned with my next pregnancy.

Smoking & Drinking of course we know thats not good for bubs, however Dr's do say the "Occasional" drink will not harm the baby...when it comes down to it its your personal choice, and I don't think you are awful if you do have the occasional drink.

As for food, I was listeria mad when I was pregnant so I cut everything out that could possibly be a risk. My reason for that is because a friend of a friend lost a baby to listeria and it freaked me out. I drank milo because I was too scared of drinking tea (won't be like that next time LOL). I didn't have soft drink because it gave me bad acid reflux, not because of its sugar content. I didn't get my hair dyed because I was told that the dye crossed the placenta...later found out when Paris was 12 mths old that according to most of australias leading parenting mags (still got them after birth LOL) the hair dye thing has not been scientifically proven.

Honestly I was a nervous wreck about everything and I honestly think that was more dangerous for my bubs than half the stuff I was actually worried about. Of course there are some serious risks, but regarding the tap water...I think the government would make sure there were warnings if it were dangerous for bubs. But I do agree with snowgirl yes filtered water does taste better LOL! We have a britta jug too ;)

And remember whilst it doesn't keep everything out, I still think the placenta does a pretty good job!

I hope you guys understand where I am coming from, I am not saying that its right or wrong to do any of these things, ultimately its your personal choice. But try and remember that your Dr is the best one to ask about these things, the medical profession wouldn't let us harm our bubs...so whilst there is alot of "information" around don't forget to ask your Dr before you make your final decision :)

But whatever you decide....DON'T STRESS!

*hugs*
Cailin

I agree with Cailin... in my first trimester I did nothing, I only ate unprocessed foods, no caffine at all, no soft drinks etc... I wouldn't eat out at friends houses because of all the restrictions I had on what I would eat....Then I went to my first midwives appointment, and they thought I was crazy... I guess I was a LOT PG paranoid, but they said have a healthy fear of soft cheeses, ham, processed meats, cold meats, etc. Yes, many natural pregnancy books put all sorts of diseases such as autism and ADHD down to consumption of food while in the womb, most of it is unsubstantiated... so there really isn't any proof... And remember, heroine addicts give birth to healthy babies all the time, (with an addiction of course, but healthy all the same).
So, that night DH gave me a coffee and a glass of wine (neither of them I could bring myself to drink...LOL!) But now I have a few cups of coffee a week, I drink less soft drink than I did before primarily for healthy reasons though to have less sugar intakes its just better for you anyway. And I try to eat a balanced diet & take my pregnancy vitamens regularly. I will eat ham if I cook it for 2 minutes, etc... Just being sensible.

The more stress you have in pregnancy, the more stress the baby has.

Christy

I personally don't see a problem with having the occasional drink. Of course in pregnancy you have to be more vigilant, but within reason. My doctor told me there is nothing wrong with having an occasional drink (just one of course) and still drinking tea and coffee once or twice a day if you want to. While I am certainly not advocating drinking during pregnancy, I have to wonder how they can possibly prove that one drink during pregnancy can cause your child to have ADHD later in life. I mean, how can they directly link alcohol as a cause? There are so many different factors that can lead to ADHD. Anyway, it up to us as individuals to decide what to eat or drink during pregnancy and to do what we feel is right for ourselves and our babies.

HAM???
I thought ham was safe to eat!
:smt119
I've been having ham & cheese toasts all the time cause I thought it was safe!

I think it's more the storage of the ham that is a risk, as with any deli food there is a small risk of salmonella or the like. I still eat it but I don't let it sit in the fridge too long - if it is not going to be eaten within a couple of days I freeze it. Heating it up before eating it will kill any potential nasties, but I have never done this! Again it's a personal choice, but I think in general it is safe (of course I am not an expert so don't quote me on that). If you buy it in vacuum sealed packs or a high turnover supermarket it should be ok.

yes, I buy it in those sealed packs from the supermarket. ... gosh, I hope that's okay... it's so confusing with all the contradicting advice we get...

my SIL's doctor said to her not to worry about soft cheeses! He said "French women eat cheese all the time and they still have healthy babies!" She also eats sushi quite happily (she lives in Japan) and said to me that Japanese women all eat sushi because it's so healthy!

all very confusing....

Maybe the problem with the sushi is the raw fish so if you eat vegetarian ones or california rolls etc. its probably still healthy. How do they make ham? I've always wondered why its that pink colour. Is it cooked or raw?

ham is cooked (and some are smoked as well for flavour) as far as I'm aware of it. definitely not raw (that's bacon or parma ham, which is just smoked and salted)

and yes, she does eat the raw fish - tuna, salmon, you name it! i was quite surprised.

If you are concerned about what you are eating do look at the listeria article on the main page http://www.bellybelly.biz/php/info/listeria.php

Like I said before though, the stress could do more harm in the long term than eating some things....

Christy

I think the turnover rate and the freshness/ storage/ preparation of sushi in Japan would be a lot safer than here. Here it kinda falls under the take away/junk food category even if it is healthy.

I've been eating prosciutto (parma ham) all the way through!
I found soft drink actually helps me with indigestion, so I've been drinking about 4 litres a fortnight. I'm so hanging out for a coffee though. My iron levels are low, so I can't really afford to be taking in any extra caffiene. That's one of the first things I'm having though. Only a week now, I guess I can wait that long, I've lasted so far.

I've been eating Sushi all the time I've been pregnant. Not the raw varieties, I've never eaten them . I think that its fairly easy to spot the stuff that isn't fresh. It sort of looks dry and skanky. I'm a bit of a Sushi snob so I usually go to places that make it fresh and steer clear of Sushi Train and so on. It can be hard finding food that's halal in the city and at uni and if I give up Sushi that leaves kebabs,curry and rabbit food. I'll just cross my fingers and try not to stress.

Susan

I am referring to a post of a few days back about herbal teas?

I have been drinking rasperry tea, I thought it was safe, and that Raspberry Leaf tea is not (but I have read it is ok in third trimester as will stimulate uterus eg getting it ready for birth or something like that.)

I am now drinking blackcurrant and lemon tea with no caffine. Is it OK?

Sorry, Kel.

I found some really informative web sites back when I was 6 weeks, but couldn't remeber which herbal teas were safe, so I just didn't drink any. And of course, do you think I can find those websites now? ;) I wasn't much of a tea drinker anyway. Maybe someone else would know. Anyone?

Blackcurrant and Lemon should be ok, but if you are concerned, ask a naturopath or your doctor.

I've been drinking milo for a hot drink, because two glasses a day fills the daily requirement for iron, calcium, and a couple of other things. Not enough on it's on when you're pregnant, but it helps.

I was the same with milo, but I also think raspberry leaf tea is quite good. Do you know something funny though, I was terrified when I read on the tin that it had vitamin A in in milo I thought I had endangered my baby - I spoke to my Dr she told me stop freaking out as it was fine the amount of Vitamin A that is considered harmful was way higher than in milo LOL! So there ya go that just goes to show how excessive I was LOL!

You can get raspberry leaf tablets if you don't like the taste of the tea though, although I used to mix it with a raspberry tea and it masked the taste :)

*hugs*
Cailin

LOL

I've heard so much about raspberry leaf tea though, I don't know which way is up. So it's good, some say it's very bad, some say drink it from the start, some say it's only safe in the thrid trimester. Ah, the wonders of the internet. Ask a simple question, and get three hundred different answers. What is it that it actually does that is good for you anyway? I remember when I first started reading stuff, thinking "hey, this stuff sounds good" and being disappointed when the very next site said don't touch it. Does it just have the same softening effect as sperm, or does it do something else, or something different entirely?

My midwives have recommend I start it at 34 weeks and that it helps the uterus contract, so it helps prepare the uterus for labour, some say it can help speed labour up and thats why you only take it in 3rd trimester... I have some and on the box it says its for pregnancy and uterine health... and to drink 3 cups/day.... I think at 34 weeks I'll start on one cup a day (depending on if our room is finished ;) )

Christy

heh, maybe I should start it then, but I think by the time I got around to buying some, it'll be too late anyway. :D

I would just like to clear up an issue on alcohol.

We'll be doing an article in detail on this however in the meantime, once you are past approximately 14 weeks (when all the baby's major organs are developed and just growth is left to go) it is perfectly fine to drink 1-2 glasses of wine a week. This is backed by medical research and you do not need to feel guilty in doing so.

If you do have a drinking problem, you will need to seek professional help for the support you will need.

Cheers for that Kelly... hiccup!
I'm glad i dont need to.. hiccup.. feel guilty anymore!! :)
No seriously that makes me feel so very much better coz although it is either beer or wine i will have a sip from DH's or Godfathers glass/bottle up to three times on the weekend just so i dont feel left out or that I am missing something! They all taste horrible, like sand to me now anyway which helps, but i did feel bad, so i tried not to drink any, but if that wont hurt my precious bub, then I am happy with that!
Mind you I am looking forward to celebrating actually giving birth a month or so later with a nice expensive bottle of Amberley Shiraz!!!