Prawns!!

[AnotherHelen]

Ok ive tried and tried and tried to find out if prawns are ok or not to eat when you are pregnant! i CANNOT seem to find an answer! i have spoken to lots of people who have eaten prawns throughout pregnancy and been fine, so is it ok or not? does anyone have any ideas? i seem to be getting lost in a looooooong list of things i cannot eat, surely not all fish/prawns/ seafood is unsafe???

[Twiglett]

more risk of getting food poisioning from shellfish and food poisioning bad when pg .. so you decide for yourself

[colditz]

Advised not to eat them, risk of food poisoning and high mercury levels, or something.

i ate them by the pint though, but I don't advise it

[AnotherHelen]

hmmm i figured as much! been to a party and i nicked some of my ds's prawns sandwich (or two ) and i remembered later that someone said you shouldnt eat them when pregnant!! i thoroughly enjoyed them though!! want more!!

[SenoraPostrophe]

prawns do carry a risk of food poisoning, but only (I think) if they're not cleaned stored and cooked properly. If you buy them frozen, clean them yourself (by which I mean cutting them down the back and removing the goo with a knife) and cook them thoroughly within hours of defrosting, then you should be OK (IMO. I'm not a health professional)

As far as I know you shouldn't eat:

shellfish (risk of food poisoning)
tuna (at least you shouldn't eat it very often: high mercury levels)
other deep sea fish like swordfish and that cod subsitute that i can't remember the name of (high mercury levels)

but you can eat normal north sea and freshwater fish like haddock, salmon etc.

[SenoraPostrophe]

Marlin! that's the other one you shouldn't eat very often.

[SenoraPostrophe]

here

[AnotherHelen]

Thankyou SenoraPostrophe!! thats a very helpful site!! i always thought these kinds of foods were supposed to be good for you! (in a much lesser moderation during pregnancy i guess) xx

[Yorkiegirl]

Message withdrawn

[hoxtonchick]

i ate prawns throughout my 2nd pregnancy. dd is 1.5 weeks old & absolutely fine. actually, i only ate the frozen ones which i'm sure are pretty safe.

[SenoraPostrophe]

hc - it's the frozen precooked & peeled ones that are most likley to be dodgy (other than restaurant prawns)

[Lonelymum]

That website does say you can eat prawns in pregnancy. I am sure I did.

[hoxtonchick]

wow, really sp. didn't know that. do you know why?

[SenoraPostrophe]

becaue they're rarely cleaned properly and because they'll be reheated when you eat them (I assume). can't remember where i read that though.

[hoxtonchick]

interesting. ah well, she's ok & i'm ok & maybe i'll have some for lunch!

[Janh]

Where are they peeled, packed and frozen? I'm sure it's abroad and their personal hygiene isn't too good (the packers, not the prawns) - I think I also read somewhere that the water they are grown in is a bit dodgy too.

(Am I putting everybody off them? )

[hoxtonchick]

oh god, i have a freezer full of them! and ds likes them too......

[Janh]

Sorry, hc! I'm sure most of them are fine really, esp if they're a reputable make. I've just been googling and found school science which has a bit about them. HTH (really!)

[essbee]

Message withdrawn

[AnotherHelen]

There just seems to be so many things that you shouldnt eat when your pregnant! it seems like every day i hear of something else im not allowed to eat or drink! i ate alot of prawns when i was pregnant with my first as i dont think i realised there was a problem with them, and he was fine! - but i guess i might have just been lucky! and it always seems to be your favourite foods and drinks that you cant have!

[Redhelen]

Hello!

I ate prawns whilst pregnanat with my son - but havn't this time. My brother tells me prawns are the flys of the sea and will eat any thing - really anything! If I feel like prawns I use seafood sticks (ok its not the same - but if you dice them up and use loads of mayo/cocktail sauce its good!!)

[smellymelly]

Redhelen - I think the sea food stick things are actually worse.

Anotherhelen - Prawns are supposed to be a definite no. But in my 2nd and 3rd pregnacies I ate loads.

I was actually eating king prawns nearly every day in my 3rd pregnancy, as they were one of my cravings. I would be really careful though. I think the only thing I avoided this last time was pate.

[smellymelly]

sp - I am sure the restaurants use frozen ones too.

[Redhelen]

The seafood sticks I have are made from white fish - however they are coloured with cochineal which I try not to think about!

[smellymelly]

enjoy..!