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.

LovelyTinOfSpam, lol! Good point! There's an NCT fair on soon with a maternity bra fitting service so I'll get measured and ask about it then. I would have thought my bra would have to be uncomfortable to be doing any damage though? I have had to buy bigger ones though!

I'm sure it's fine nekabu.

Are you going to BF? My top tip would be only buy one nursing bra in advance (the advice all says 2) as they are guessing what is going to happen to your breasts once it all settles down. This time I'm going to wait until BF is established and then get bras sorted.

it all gets so expensive otherwise.

What is this about bras? Worn underwired bras throughout preg (obviously unless they are uncomfortable) and why would something I put on my head (hair dye) be a risk to my baby?

ROFL @ thread to say how silly all the rules are has hordes of women in a pickle over their bras

Dizzyclarebear - cashews are in fact legumes, not nuts, so feel free to fill your boots on that score.

The research I've read says that hairdye is one of the million things that "might not be a good idea just in case" (of what, though, of what?!?!)

The silliest advice I heard on this score was to dye your hair "without letting the dye make contact with your scalp"

So this option is only open to those of us who have amazing levitating hair, and who like our roots to be a different colour!

Let's summarise then...

To be pregnant with impunity, you need to be topless, leaning to the left with your ankles elevated whilst also tilting slightly forwards, eating nothing but lettuce and apples, with your roots (not to mention your breasts) showing, covered in Bio-Oil and carrying a megaphone asking everyone within 100m radius to turn off their microwaves.

Shall we all meet up somewhere and freak out the nation?

Gentlydidit, I think that is a really good idea. Where shall we all meet?

Verylittlecarrot, I remember watching a documentary which said the advice on nuts was now in reverse. Apparently eating nuts may confer protection against allergy (provided you don't actually have an allergy yourself).

At the time it made sense but I don't know how to explain it - the thesis is that the body gets used to the nuts before it has a chance to recognise them as a foreign body, which means that the immunological cycle involved in thinking that they are dangerous (the nuts that is) is not stimulated and the reaction (anaphalactic shock etc) does not occur.

Does this make sense?

Gentlydidit, it many countries you are not supposed to eat lettuce. Seriously, the bagged stuff anyway, it supposedly can have listeria.

So just apples. Except y'know, pesticides? So, maybe not apples. Bugger.

BB we are having the exact same feast when our LO arrives too

gentlydidit i have just almost spat out my (decaffinated - pah) coffee all over the keyboard at your idea!! am off to try it now, i might suggest it to my ante natal class at our next meeting!

alygrylls my sister had the same suggestion about peanuts, she thought it would be more likely to create an immunity to the allergy rather than exacerbate it

PMSL at me starting a global bra panic!!

Apparently in isreal where a highly popular breakfast cereal made from peanuts is everyone's top choice and a numero uno weaning food, there is little incidence of nut allergy.

Certainly there is a school of thought which thinks avoiding them is half the trouble.

I don't like nuts though, so no idea where that leaves me!

No lettuce or apples, eh?

I've just thought of something that no-one can possibly object to us having on nutritional grounds - breast milk.

Oh let's do a flash mob, it would be absolutely eye-popping!

Why thank you, don't mind if I do...

Tequila slammer, anyone?

Oooooh lovely gently, I just need to finish this cocktail and plate of steak tartare and I'll be with you

steak tartare

I'll have a tequila, but you'll have to pass it too me, I can't get up from my prone position!!

I was annoyed the other day when I bought some camembert covered in breadcrumbs (from Co-op) - obviously to cook in the oven.

It actually said on the packet - 'not suitable for pregnant women'.

Quite apart from the fact that I don't want to be told what I can or cannot eat, camembert is fine as long as it's been cooked.

Why don't they get their facts straight?

It was bloody gorgeous.

Actually steak tartare may be the ultimate pregnancy food - raw meat and raw egg! Fabbo!

I guess the ultimate drink would be treble vodka redbulls?

hee hee!

Right I'm off for a warm bath and a deep tissue massage... must dye my hair tonight, too!

Don't forget to put lots of aromatherapy oils in the bath!

and down a shot (or two) of absinthe first!

I was very casual in both pgs, 2nd time I was 20 weeks when ate a bit of past-its-sell-by-date unpasteurised cheese (yes, stupid I know), and BOY was I ill. baby was fine, but I have never been that ill. so.

when preg, people think you're public property. In Italy they have areas where you can be prosecuted for smoking within a certain distance of a pregnant woman, that's quite cool!

As for lettuce - a few years ago my mum managed to contract dysentery from unwashed lettuce, served in a sandwich, in (would you believe) Harrods.

She had something called Shigella and her Dr said unwashed lettuce was a rather common way of contracting this pretty uncommon illness.

So in theory I can see where they are coming from, but equally I (and her) have eaten salads and all sorts all over the world and been fine, so sometimes it's just bad luck.

It was horrid though, she was ill for weeks and weeks.

I know what you mean about that thing when people ask 'should you be eating that' lol. So tired of hearing that even now that I'm nursing. Here is the logic behind avoiding alcohol though:

www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007454.htm

www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/2270.aspx?CategoryID=54#close

As for most of the other things that are 'banned' we're told to avoid them because of the risk of bacterial infection (notice most of the food listed by the link longtalljosie posted are ones where you could get food poisoning or salmonella) So i think rule of thumb is just to MAKE SURE what you are eating is cooked and is clean!

Some of the don'ts though are definitely just myths site.pishposhbaby.com/blog/2014/07/17/pregnancy-myths-infographic/

i literally wanted to hit my friend who told me not to eat sushi (which i avoided because i thought what he was saying was true)

This thread is 5 years old FFS.