Food restrictions during pregnancy

[AliGrylls]

I just need to get this out of my system.

During my pregnancy I have found it a little much because everytime I order certain things in restaurants people look at me as if to say "should you be eating that?"

In addition, at my ante-natal booking in appointment I was asked "do you drink?" - honestly 2 small glasses of wine per week. I was told I needed to stop completely. The list of foods I was given to avoid seemed endless. Even things I had never thought about (mayonnaise being one).

AIBU for thinking that pregnant women are treated like idiots nowadays and as if they are incapable of working things out for themselves. Why can't they just tell us the risks (which are usually so minute anyway) and then let us make the decisions?

I appreciate that maybe there are some thickos out there but personally I find the attitude that people take towards pregnancy really patronising.

No YANBU - we are in a total nanny state where pregnant women are considered to have no brains

YANBU - it drives me nuts (ha) too

And I've had different 'information' from different midwives too. One said peanuts are fine, one said they aren't. One said a small amount of alcohol was fine, the other said definitely NO alcohol.

As for the mayonnaise, it's ok if it's got pasturised egg in it and not unpasturised egg...although the egg thing is another debate!

The only things I DO avoid are pate, offal and mouldy cheeses TBH!

AFAIK it is only fresh mayo made with raw eggs you should avoid and that is just incase of food poisoning. Mayo made with pasteurised (sp?) egg should be fine. Just make sure it hasn't been left out the fridge for ages!

Although to be fair, I struggled to remember my own name when I was pregnant and I'm pretty sure they took out half my brain with the babies...

It is bloody annoying though.

YANBU. We are treated like idiots.

Oops x post with mlmk!

I was told by the midwife on booking in that parma ham was OK but everything else I've read says its a definiet no no cause it air cured and therfore a risk!

Coleslaw and mayonnaise are OK if theyre shop bought I think cause it's all pasturised, it's the home-made stuff you're supposed to avoid.

I drank maybe 3 halves of guiness a week when I was pregnant. And watched the looks on peoples faces

I danced in a night club at new year with 3 inch heels on, ds was born at the beginning of Feb. And watched peoples mouths drop open in shock. I always found it quite funny.

It's annoying though.People think they have the right to judge even if they don't know you.
EVERYONE around you knows what's best for you.
Of course you don't, cos you're pregnant and don't have a clue.

Non of the things I did when I was pregnant hurt my son. He's bright and happy

Tell them all to b**r off with bells on!

YANBU - I completely agree. Especially as with some of those forbidden foods, there are exceptions:

• pasteurised cheese is fine, regardless of whether its soft or not;

• raw fish won't hurt your baby - you will just get sick if its off, as you would if you weren't pregnant, only you will probably feel sicker; and

• you only need to avoid peanuts if there is a family history of excema or nut allergies.

I could go on. Instead, people just put a blanket ban on them for pregnant women without understanding why those foods should be approached with caution, rather than simply prohibited.

I am like mylifemykids - only avoid pate, offal and mouldy cheeses. The rest I toast over my 2 X half glasses of wine a week

Very sensible webpage from the FSA

But no, YANBU. What used to drive me mad at first was when I was asking about certain foods and people used to go, "oh, better to be on the safe side..." without really thinking about it, as they tucked into their non-restricted lunch.

Once I've had this baby I'm going to eat sushi, pate, blue cheese, wine and rare steak. All in one big bowl

Weebob, you are so right people do feel the need to judge - even those who have never been pregnant.

I feel like saying to them "just you wait, I will give you exactly the same look one day".

I have eaten parma ham and prawns throughout pregs - I just can't avoid them because they are my two favourite foods in the world. I have also enjoyed drinking the odd glass of wine and beer.

I swear it has made my pregnancy easier.

YANBU it is bloody nonsense. There's a nice article from midwifery matters here, quite interesting.

I'm trying to think what other naughty things I did............

I threw a pan at db once

I had a steak that wasn't burned to a crisp

I'm thinking...........

Great article boogeek, thanks.

I am currently on preg no4, and admittedly have got more and more relaxed with each one. With my second pregnancy (1st baby), I was so paranoid I avoided anything that even resembled anything on any of the lists, but managed to get severe food poisoning at 7 months (which was horrific), but by now I have educated myself and eat whatever I want, and haven't been healthier.

Drives me insane though that people think they have the right to tell you what you should and shouldn't eat or drink, just because you are pregnant. My body, my rules, and all the judgypants can sod off.

You should see the restrictions they have over here in Sydney then! I am having my baby by Tuesday at the latest and I cannot wait to indulge in:

roast chicken from the chicken shop across the road

subway sandwiches

macca's icecream sundaes

chicken chow mein with beansprouts in it

Amongst many many other things.

Here's the "summary" page for the little booklet I was given...

www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/_Documents/consumer_pdf/pregnancy_table.pdf

YANBU - the 'advice' seems to be aimed at the lowest common demominator of intelligence ie just because some people can't work out the difference between the occasional glass of wine and getting smashed on WKD every night, we better say that booze is totally 100% banned.
And agree with the OP on the 'just to be on the safe side' stupidity of other people
When I was pg, some friends questioned whether I should be eating curry and spicey food. I asked them what they reckoned Indian women do when they are pregnant, and they replied that as I have a choice not to eat spicey food, I should avoid it "to be on the safe side"
Safe side of what?!

Safe side of insanity?

YANBU i absolutely agree with you. When we were browsing the menu for our xmas meal at work my fellow PG colleague kept telling me all the things i couldnt eat, i ended up telling her (politely) to butt out and let me make my own choice thank you very much, like i was too thick to read a menu!!

Oh and i did the high heels thing too in March (my bubba was due yesterday so was 6 months pg at the time) i went out with my mum and sisters and i got really dolled up, thankfully my mum and sis's were really proud of me and glared back at the people giving me funny looks.

and when i told my MW that at 10 weeks pg i was drinking one glass of wine every two weeks - the telling off she gave me would make you think i was necking the absinthe every night!!

I've had the odd Pimms while pregnant and luckily don't like mouldy cheese. The NHS website has a good page here that actually tells you why you shouldn't eat particular foods.

Had to hide the bump in McDs last week as I was sure people were looking at me stuffing my face with a large Big Mac meal

This is my first and I'm fairly relaxed about most things and only avoiding foods with a risk to the baby. We have a cat and I have to change the litter so have surgical gloves for that (it's the best you can do and I think I stand a higher chance of being in a car accident to be honest!).

My cat is very licky, i just make sure i rinse my hands after he has given me a good clean!!

I now have about one glass of vino a week, have had the occasional smoked salmon and the occasional bit of Brie. I am generally sensible but in the nature of this thread i am not going overboard but trusting my own instincts.

Oh and my GP said not to worry too much about runny yolk eggs (my absolute favourite), she said that the risk of salmonella is now so low that as purplecrazyhorse said we are more likely to be in a car accident.

Eat away OP!

Is it really summerbird??? I love a runny egg, there's nowt better on a Sunday morn then right crusty floury fresh bread with butter slathered onto it and a nice runny fried egg, and when you bite into it, the yolk dribbles dowm your chin...[salavates]

Demented, read the article that boogeek did a link to
In summary, you are more likely to die in childbirth (1 in 10,000) than get ill from eating eggs or cheese (1 in 16,000)
I know that won't stop people saying 'oh yes, but you can never be too careful, can you'
But it does sort of put things into perspective

Tigurr, I'm at that list
don't eat fruit salad? Prepacked pineapple was about the only thing I could keep down
Don't eat bean sprouts?!
What is the reasoning behind it

I made no changes to my diet whatsoever when I was pregnant.

Just another way to control women IMO.

I was gobsmacked too, wasabipeas - but I've stuck to the list because I've not been over here long enough to know whether or not the risk is "real", iykwim? I would rather do without for 9 months than risk this little one to be honest.

No wonder I've only put on half a stone though the whole time I've been pregnant... I'm bloody starving LOL. Fortunately chocolate is allowed though!