Did you eat ‘forbidden foods’ in pregnancy?

[Wouldloveanother]

After 2 weeks of horrendous morning (all day) sickness and accompanying gastro problems, I NEEDED a smoked salmon and cream cheese sandwich. Bought one from Tesco, it went down a treat, currently smacking my lips and feeling better than I have for a day or two.

But… the NHS website says to be ‘careful’ with smoked salmon. Surely Tesco sandwiches are pretty safe? Have I committed a pregnancy crime?

I ate smoked salmon - I looked it up before hand and NHS said it was fine at the time.

Followed NHS guidelines and switched to decaf tea etc.

I was pretty cautious.

That said, I hate the 'oh well personally I wouldn't risk my BABY'S LIFE just so I could eat something but that's JUST ME' crap that gets pulled on these threads:

• it's not just you
• literally nobody is thinking 'hmm which is more important to me, a bit of brie or the life of my child .... yeah I'm gonna say brie'. People just assess risk differently (and probably more realistically) than you and make decisions based on that
• you're taking a bigger risk by driving or being a passenger in a car, crossing the road or any other number of things

There's a statistical risk and it's just not worth it

But the risk is tiny, and everyone has their own risk tolerance. I did loads of things you are advised against, and didn't do many things you are supposed to do, but then I am pretty laid back about life in general.

One memorable example is the advice not to eat liver, which is based on the idea that liver contains vitamin a which can be very dangerous for foetuses. But she then looks at the amount of vitamin a in various kinds of liver and works out that you’d need to eat something like three servings of beef liver a day to get close to a risky amount of vitamin a, and that eating a small amount of say chicken liver is actually really beneficial because it’s so nutrient rich. Don’t quote me on this as I’m paraphrasing from memory.

In my country they say no more than 200g of liver products a week but not pure liver like liver steak, things like pate and liver sausage. If eating daily, then no more than 30g a day. I was very relieved when I found that out because I went off all meat when pregnant except pate, and I was very anaemic so really needed it.

Urgh if a pregnant woman did everything they were told - no sushi, no cured meats, no caffeine, no bagged salad, no soft cheeses, no pate, no tuna, no pineapple, no grapes, etc etc etc…

Youd have a proper shit and boring diet! Chips and bread would be ok, no risk there (albeit constipating)

and also according to some you shouldn’t wear makeup, dye your hair, fake tan or paint your nails when pregnant either. Also you should give up exercise. So on top of a restricted diet you have to look like shit too!

Nah! Not for me. We’re not talking about a couple of weeks here, it’s the best of a year. Life is too short to make that level of sacrifice

Personally, no. I can’t enjoy it knowing there is a potential risk (even if it is low).

Definitely looking forward to having a glass of wine and being able to sleep (occasionally 😄) on my stomach again though!

had my baby last year, basically ate everything - all cheeses, cold meats, smoked salmon, eggs, pate (but only twice in pregnancy) and probably a small glass of wine a week.

the only thing I cut down on was caffeine (which I cut down on but not out completely) I allowed myself a cup of tea and a Diet Coke a day…

@Albgo

there’s a risk every time you step out your front door. You could be hit by a bolt of lightening. Should pregnant women become hermits for 9 months?

Urgh if a pregnant woman did everything they were told - no sushi, no cured meats, no caffeine, no bagged salad, no soft cheeses, no pate, no tuna, no pineapple, no grapes, etc etc etc

You can eat cured meats if cooked and the same is true for eating mould ripened or blue cheeses. You can have some caffeine but not too much. Tuna can be eaten but again with limits - something like 4 tins a week. There is no warning about bagged salad or pineapple or grapes so I don't know where this info has come from

It's recommended for a reason. Why risk it?

@ChubbyCapybara

chill and don’t feel guilty

you still have to have a life when you’re pregnant

you can’t avoid all risk

I ate rare steak, that's about it but mainly because I've never liked most of the other foods you're supposed to avoid!

No

I was far too worried that it would harm my babies.

Wasn't worth it

@vroom321

Cos most things in life are risky, stepping out your front door you could be hit by lightening or trip on the pavement and injure yourself or whatever

you still have to have a life when pregnant - you can’t avoid all risk

Yes. I ate the odd bit of pâté and parma ham here and there. I also enjoyed a rare steak on several occasions.

But you can avoid these foods easily, there’s lots of other things to eat. Not so easy to avoid going outside.

@bcc89

what do you want a medal?

or wait there is no prize for ‘most risk averse and overly abstemious pregnant woman’ is there

I ate most things in both my pregnancies but I stayed away from alcohol. I had one glass of fizz at about 7 months pregnant for a special occasion I think.

As the main issue is food poisoning, and I’ve never had food poisoning, I kind of took it as a guideline. Especially as during my first pregnancy I was so unwell, the only thing I wanted (or could) eat was steak and I would never eat it well done.

Probably.
My pregnancies pre-dated the internet, so pretty much it was ‘Don’t smoke, avoid alcohol’ Which my grandmother disagreed with. I was anaemic, and she was convinced a glass of Guinness would sort me out.😁

Did anyone not wear make up when pregnant due to concerns about the chemicals/toxins?

Most of the things on the list can be made safer by cooking so no need to avoid them completely

Others have limits and again don't need to be avoided as you can have them in moderation

I never changed my make up or skincare habits when pregnant. Is it Retin A that should be avoided?

Oh I stepped out into the road without looking once and was absolutely fine, so that means it's absolutely fine for everyone to do the same. I don't know what the fuss is about 🙄

The foods they tell you not to have are often regularly eaten in other countries by pregnant women.

For the absence of doubt this is the list the NHS advises to avoid completely. Everything else as long as washed or cooked properly and in moderation is fine:

Unpasteurized milk
Unpasteurized soft cheese
Raw or uncooked meat
Liver products
Pate
Game meat
Raw goose, quail, partridge eggs/none uk eggs
Swordfish
Marlin
Shark
Raw shellfish
Licorice root
Alcohol

Wtf?

The list of banned foods is so small

Most women cope just fine, I didn't have to adjust my diet at all as I didn't eat any of those foods anyway.

You also seem in your other replies to not understand people can and should mitigate risk

Can you remove all risk? No

Can you reduce risks? Yes

When pregnant why wouldn't you want to mitigate as many risks as possible?