Ridiculously worried, found metal in takeaway

Eat a bowl of oatmeal to "line" the digestive tract and ensure safe passage so to speak.

She just needs a bit of reassurance

Maybe the baby will make a tiny spoon or musical instrument like a triangle?

You don’t need to go to Asda. You need to think back to your biology lessons in school. Your digestive and reproductive systems are separate. There is no way for the metal, if you have eaten any, to magically jump from one system to the other- just like a coil contraceptive can’t jump into your stomach or a tampon can’t wind up in your lungs.

I’m sure you would have noticed that in your mouth and not have swallowed any. Even if you did I’m sure it wouldn’t affect your baby. Try not to worry. Xx

It wouldn’t make you feel any better to do this. I have OCD (and am a mother of four)this sounds a little like that. You think you’ll get reassurance but it won’t stop the anxiety, you’ll just get further “what ifs”. You’ll keep staring at the pad and the filaments and won’t believe what you’re seeing.

As PP said, there’s no way chunks of metal can pass through the placenta. Also, look at what women with extreme Pica eat! 😂

Youre going to be okay. But stop seeking reassurance, and just notice and observe that you’re going to feel anxious for a few hours. It will pass.

And maybe tomorrow look into intrusive thoughts OCD. It can rear its head in pregnancy.

What if what?

What's going to happen? Any metal is in your stomach. Your baby is in your womb.

That won't happen. If you have swallowed some it'll go into your tummy and through your bowels and you'll poo it out. Your digestive tract is completely separate to your placenta and it's only things in your blood that will be exchanged between you and your baby.

I think if you had put any in your mouth and chewed you would have felt it wasn’t what it was meant to feel like (eg chicken , rice , veg ) and taken it out . Similar to when you get a hair in your mouth on accident .
But understand your concern when it comes to stuff like this . I would however speak with the takeaway venue to find out , and wouldn’t eat from there again .

I completely sympathise with how you're feeling, but as someone who was also very anxious in pregnancy, I think this kind of action will only feed your anxiety, not resolve it. You really just need to sit with the anxiety now and wait for the spike or panic to pass. It will, I promise. Rationality will return.

Yes, because you won't know if it's the same type of scourer or even if it is from a scourer.

Honestly, just ask them. They'll be able to shed light and probably be grateful to know there's a problem.

If I had a takeaway with 5 * I'd be glad that a customer let me know a problem was occurring so I could remedy it.

They may even give you metal-free freebies to say thanks.

Forget about it, honestly you're fine. Even if you had ingested any, your baby will be fine. Try to forget about it have a dessert to finish off your meal

it won't.

It'll be fine.

Bless you. I can totally empathise, when I’m pregnant I panic about everything and anything. However, I think there’s anything for you to worry about here.

Congratulations on your pregnancy.

I think if you'd ate any of what looks like metal you'd have felt it when chewing. Even if you had, it won't harm your baby, in my opinion. It'll just make it's way, whole, through your digestive system. I panicked so much about things I ate when pregnant with my first DD. She's 6 and I have friends who still wind me up about it. But at the time I was so worried and my logical brain was on holiday.

You won't have harmed your baby. Best of luck for the rest of your pregnancy. 😊

Your body can't break
Metal down, so it cannot possibly pass through your placenta;

It's physically impossible for this to happen.

Honestly if it's a scourer to be used with pans and so on, it can't have anything really toxic in it because it is going to be used with food-prep items.

But I totally understand that extra worry when you're pregnant. It is fine though. But I get it.

Here’s the sort of thing. If you zoom in you can see how the wire filaments are bent to loop back on themselves. I think, if one came loose, it would probably look like the thing you found. https://bidfoodcateringsupplies.co.uk/products/professional-zinccote-scourer

It doesn't sound like something that could do any real harm but I'd be tempted to contact the takeaway and ask what it might be. After all, if bits of cleaning equipment - or anything else - are getting into their otherwise nice food they need to know about it. They may well be able to confirm what it is if they see the picture. If they do think it is a bit of scourer, I'd ask if they use one with cleaning chemicals in it, like brillo pads, as that isn't great. I doubt you've ingested the metal without noticing, but if you do feel unwell in the next few days, go to A & E and tell them about this.

Don't worry, OP. If you feel OK you almost certainly are OK. See all of this as double checking.