No sandwiches while pregnant

[SandyGEE12]

I didn't realise we are not allowed to have chilled sandwiches or ham while pregnant. twitter.com/thismorning/status/834106662805975041?s=08

[RedBugMug]

you are allowed to eat whatever you fancy when pregnant.
it's all about the risk.
sandwich shop sandwiches are a known risk for food poisoning.

[INeedNewShoes]

If we avoid everything that is on the 'no' list somewhere or other we'll be left with very little to eat (especially when trying to buy a quick lunch out)!

Everyone has a different attitude to the level of risk posed by different foods.

I've eaten smoked salmon and ham during this pregnancy but I wouldn't buy a sandwich from a shop that I didn't know and trust.

Its a minefield if you take it all too seriously!

[NerrSnerr]

If you read every headline it'll drive you bonkers. Stick with the NHS guidance.

[steph0488]

I'm 40 weeks pregnant and have eaten lots of shop bought sandwiches this pregnancy - hasn't had any impact on me or baby. In fact I didn't even realise I wasn't supposed to eat them until I read your post. There are risks in everything I think you just have to take a sensible approach to weighing them up.

[SandyGEE12]

It is also on the NHS website here www.nhs.uk/conditions/listeriosis/Pages/Introduction.aspx. I should have said 'advised to avoid' not not allowed, sorry.

[SandyGEE12]

It is also on the NHS website here www.nhs.uk/conditions/listeriosis/Pages/Introduction.aspx. I should have said 'advised to avoid' not not allowed, sorry.

[SandyGEE12]

Also sorry, as my app always posts twice!

[SandyGEE12]

Also sorry, as my app always posts twice!

[raviolidreaming]

If you read every headline it'll drive you bonkers. Stick with the NHS guidance

Absolutely.

[Trifleorbust]

I avoided the more risky stuff but really, try to take it easy. Most things present a negligible risk.

[tissuesosoft]

I had a 6 inch subway every day the last two months of pregnancy. I had HG all the way through and couldn't keep anything else down. Survived on water, lucozade and a subway that lasted a day. Baby born weighing nearly 8lbs and I lost 2 stone

[chelle85]

To put things in perspective....

Whilst listeria when pregnant can be pretty serious there were 169 reported cases in 2015 in the UK...out of a population of about 70 million....

Of these 56% were in men, 8% were in children, which leaves around 60 cases of listeria in women not all of whom would have been pregnant.

So use common sense and don't eat anything that looks like it has been left out for hours or smells funny but other than that just go about your normal business in the knowledge that the risk is pretty small!!

[Lunalovepud]

Sandwiches too?!

I shall pretend I didn't read this... I think if you avoided everything you are advised to, you wouldn't eat anything.

[PerpetualStudent]

But it's not the NHS pregnancy foods to avoid list? www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/917.aspx?CategoryID=54&SubCategoryID=130

[PerpetualStudent]

In fact, all that first page does is list foods where listeria has been found, including butter as well as pre-packed sandwiches! Nowhere there or on the 'preventing listeria' page does it directly suggest pre-packed sandwiches should be actively avoided.

I suppose if you have a very high sense of risk you may want to avoid every type of food where listeria has ever been found, but the actual medical advice is limited to (what are presumably) more common culprits such as mould-ripened cheese etc

[Soubriquet]

Then why do hospitals give pregnant women sandwhiches?

Seriously stop reading all the drivel or you will end up not eating anything

[Joceshe]

Nhs guidelines on food to avoid does not list sandwiches and even states UK advice is that pre packaged meat is fine to eat in pregnancy such as ham. The first link just is just an overview of items potentially listeria could be found but not all is high risk. At this rate, pregnant women wont be allowed to eat anything 😂

[INeedNewShoes]

One of the more recent listeria cases was in a load of melons!

So based on that and the various other listeria cases there have been over the past few years, we are arriving at:

No fruit
No pre-packed salad
No beansprouts
No dairy
No pre-cooked meats
No cured meats/smoked fish
No pate
No shellfish
No freshly cooked meat that isn't basically burnt
Frozen veg (apparently linked to an outbreak last year)

So... what shall we have for lunch? Pasta with nothing on it? Being pregnant makes me constipated enough as it is without avoiding basically all fresh food.

I actually think, watching the This Morning clip that the female presenter (is it Holly?) looks like she is biting her tongue and wants to tell the Dr to stop telling pregnant women to avoid all these things!