what to eat?

[kaffkooks]

I had an early mc in October. We weren't actively trying or not trying to get pregnant so I was merrily drinking alcohol, eating unpasteurised cheese, sushi and emptying the cat's litter etc.. After the mc I went back on contraception for a while and now I'm off it again. Problem is, I'm not so relaxed about conceiving this time. I've been feeling a bit sick and dizzy on and off this week (like the last time) so I'm not sure what to do as I'm at least a week away from being able to have a +ve pg test. I love all the foods I'm not meant to eat if pg and I've just had a smoked salmon sandwich with mayonaise for lunch and only just thought about it now!

I don't want to take everything too seriously but I don't want to mc again. What did other people do at this early stage?

when TTC i eat as though i'm pregnant, then relax a bit during my period. Read up on food though , smoked salmon is ok and i belive sushi is too- though don't quote me on that as i never eat it, just remember a few women saying it was fine. main thing is to be careful of excess alcohol and excessive caffeine and toxoplasmosis (any rare meat, unwashed salads and veg, cat litter etc).

I too eat as though I am pregnant when ttc, alot of mayonaise is ok just not home made (need to be made with pasteurised egg)
Once u get into the habit it is very easy.
Also just wear gloves when doing litter tray.
Best of luck x

honestly? dont change a thing. dont worry about having a drink or eating mayonnaise, or shellfish or anything. it doesnt hold any risk until you are pregnant enough to get a BFP, new embryos are designed to withstand a lot.

good luck.

i beg to differ! toxoplasmosis caught prior to conception can affect the fetus at a later stage- its rare, more lilkely to pass to baby the later on in pregnancy you are but does happen.

can it? Im just going on what my RMC told me (and using gloves etc when disposing of animal waste is just good sense). tbh, I truly believe that avoiding foods etc when ttc is pretty futile, and just a way for us to convince ourselves that we have any control at all.

obviously, catching food poisoning is bad all round, but that can be avoided by adhering to good hygiene and ensuring that high risk foods are cooked through.

you cant stop the world because you are trying to get pregnant (and I speak as someone who stopped eating shellfish for 3 years, just in case) and as long as you dont drink your body weight, eat raw chicken or uncured fish etc, you should be fine.

sorry, just reread my post and it sounds snippier than I meant it to

thanks for the advice. Probably I blame what I was eating for the last MC which I know is very unlikely. I'll just try to get back to being relaxed and see what happens.

I follow the pg eating rules from start of fertile window and during the 2ww. During AF and the week after I do what I want. Not sure if it makes sense, but it does to me.

kaffkooks what you ate almost certainly did not cause your MC.

Listeria can cause a MC but you'd have known if you had it or a flu like illness , listeria has a very long incubation period- up to 10 weeks so its very under reported but you would have been very ill (you may have suspected you had flu).

Toxoplasmosis can cause serious problems including a MC , its harder to pass onto the fetus the earlier you are in pregnancy but the earlier the worst the outcome. There is a slight risk that women who get toxo in the 3 months prior to conception can pass it onto their baby in the womb- but i stress that is so incredibly rare, passing it on becomes easier the more advanced the pregnancy is. Most people have no symptoms when they get it. Once you've had it once you are immune for life.

All the rest, too much booze, caffeine and the rest are risk factors . That does not mean they cause a MC. Many, many women smoke, drink and eat their way appalling through pregnancy and their babies survive . Your MC was most likely a one off chromosomal problem. Please do not blame yourself.

I eat healthily when TTC to be on the safe side and also because I am 44 and want to have a baby and because there really isnt much on the banned lists that I desperately miss. Alcohol is the hardest as I miss a glass of wine with dinner.

And most people have had toxoplasmosis. It's a high risk to a tiny number of pregnant women who haven't encountered it earlier.

I'm sorry about your M/C, Kaffkooks. You absolutely mustn't blame yourself for it. If you study the mechanics at what happens at conception, all the rote copying of genes with ample room for errors, and things like random gene swapping (mutations), it's amazing that so many pregnancies succeed. The human genome is incredibly complicated & large, the chances of terrible errors in the embryo's DNA are huge as a result; this is all part of the natural biological process & completely beyond yours or anyone's control.

most people in the UK have NOT had toxoplasmosis ! The highest figure i have found is that 30- 50% of the population are immune i.e have had it before, this is obviously an estimated figure as unless immunocompromised or pregnant it poses no risks , so most people would never get themselves tested. There are several threads about this issue and many posters on MN who get tested (even those who work in high risk fields and those who have cats all their lives) report that they come back as having no immunity. Food is the likeliest way to catch it, having said that it is hard to catch.

Sorry, I stand corrected. I know I can tick off every risk factor for those likely to get it.

Have just read the NHS choices thing on what to eat as had BFP yesterday. It would appear from that website that hard stilton is OK and that sushi isn't bad either (as long as it's been frozen). DH is emptying cat's litter tray. I have sickness this time round (which is actually in the afternoon rather than the morning) which I didn't have last time. Really can't complain as I suppose this is a good sign. Just need to wait and see what happens.

wow, congrats on the BFP Kaffkooks!

I'm not a big fan of cheese so not a hardship to give up any type, though i do like chevre- i think its ok as long as its cooked though- like on a tart . Sushi is another that i can take or leave . Now if cakes and biscuits were banned or milk...