Freaking out a little - ate raw papaya salad and did not realise it can cause miscarriage

[Yuki7667]

Hello

This is my first pregnancy and I ate a little raw papaya salad and did not realise that it is widely known to cause miscarriages due to the latex.

Has anyone eaten this by mistake and been okay?

Am crying inside a little right now. Trying not to freak out too much.......

[OpheliasWeepingWillow]

Papaya? Is fine. Totally fine!

[Dottiespots]

Only unripe papaya is a threat.

[Yuki7667]

Hi @awsangel that is what I ate, some raw papaya salad :(

[Yuki7667]

Hi OpheliasWeepingWillow I think that ripe papaya is okay but I ate raw papaya salad which contains chemicals that can cause miscarriage :(

[exexpat]

You would have to eat tons of it for there to be even the slightest chance of it having any effect at all, and I somehow doubt it would do anything then, judging by the lack of success of overdue friends of mine who tried papaya, curry etc etc to bring on labour.

I hadn't heard of that particular thing being on the don't-eat-in-pregnancy list (I was living in Japan and they have completely different ideas about what foods are safe/unsafe to eat in pregnancy) and I am fond of papaya, so I am sure I ate a whole papaya several times in both pregnancies. You really don't need to worry about one portion of salad.

[Alibabaandthe40nappies]

Yes but it can be raw and still ripe - which it would have been if you were eating it surely?

[Yuki7667]

Hi exepat Thank you for your message, logic is telling me that but I buggering read a shed load of stuff on Google and the constant noting of the enzymes etc., that cause contractions are hanging around like a bad smell but I will try not to think about it too much. Thanks again :)

[Yuki7667]

Hi Alibabaandthe40nappies Unfortunately it will have been raw (green). Thank you for your message though.

[exexpat]

One basic rule of pregnancy: stay away from Google. In fact, it's a pretty sound rule most of the time when it comes to anything medical. After 5 minutes on WebMD etc I think most of us could diagnose ourselves with terminal cancer of one sort or another.

Just think of it this way: if unripe papaya was so effective at triggering miscarriage,there would be a huge black market for it in Ireland and other places where abortion is banned, but I've never heard of anyone being charged with supplying exotic fruit with intent to procure an abortion...

[Dottiespots]

Hi....what do you mean by "raw" papaya op???? Its ok to have it raw as its a fruit but you are best eating it ripe as in yellow not green skinned.

[Dottiespots]

Ah....get it.....your meaning saying "raw" when your meaning "unripe" i think.

[MrsMushroom]

Raw means uncooked....unripe means green.....which do you mean? Was it ripe and raw? Or unripe and raw?

[Alibabaandthe40nappies]

Where serves unripe fruit in a salad? Surely it is horrible??

[meditrina]

When did you eat it?

If unripe fruit is going to cause the runs (and that's what's associated with increased risk of MC), it's normally less than a day after consuming it. Any diahorrhea or cramping?

[ilovepowerhoop]

from nhs site:

It is traditionally suggested that unripe or semi-ripe papaya contains substances which could cause uterine contractions. Although this has not been proved to be true in the scientific literature, pregnant women may wish to avoid unripe and semi-ripe papaya during pregnancy.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/foods-to-avoid-pregnant.aspx#close - papaya does not show as a food to avoid

[shine0ncrazydiamond]

Try and get a sense of perspective . I'm almost certain that you could eat this dish every day for the next 9 months and be perfectly fine.

Chill out

[Yuki7667]

Hi awsangel and MrsMushroom Sorry, I described it so badly, yes, it is green (unripe) papaya salad.

[Yuki7667]

Hi Alibabaandthe40nappies unfortunately is delicious, it is a savoury salad. The unripe papaya is more like a vegetable.

[Yuki7667]

PS Alibabaandthe40nappies it is a Thai dish

[Yuki7667]

Hi ilovepowerhoop Thank you for your message :)

[Yuki7667]

Hi meditrina Thank you for your message. I did pass a softer stool (sorry TMI) later that evening and nothing since. I don't think that I have experienced anymore cramping than usual since I found out I was pregnant (I have had little twinges here and there but thought that was natural due to growth of uterus).

[Yuki7667]

Hi shine0ncrazydiamond thank you for your message

[Yuki7667]

Hi exepat You make complete sense and I hope that you are right. Thank you very much :)

[Kiriwawa]

You mean Som Tam? Blimey, I ate that loads when I was pregnant - I had no idea it could cause miscarriage.

Please don't worry and don't google - you'll drive yourself mad

[Kirstiii]

Hi Yuki7667,
Sorry to restart an old thread but I found this while frantically googling! Do you mind if I ask whether things turned out ok for you? I have just eaten some raw papaya salad without thinking, then stupidly googled it and found it is possibly a cause of miscarriage. I am 6 weeks pregnant after 2 miscarriages and am freaking out. Thanks x