I want Brie and pate .......

[LoveBeingAbleToNamechange]

Just got back from waitrose and couldn't help but stand at the Brie and pate and imagine I was eating them. Very rare for it to bother me but today, [stamps foot] I want it

[Youremindmeofthebean]

mrsrhett they still tell women with family history of allergies to avoid nuts. I was told at booking in recently to avoid them to be on the safe side as my son and Partner both have severe eczema and some allergies.

[winnybella]

Hmm, I've seen plenty of pregnant French women enjoying a glass of wine in a restaurant...certainly didn't notice any dirty looks being given to them...I drank wine during pg and tbh never had anyone proposing soft drinks to me when everyone was on wine.

I have eaten fois gras etc, but not in huge amounts. You would need to eat a lot to overdose on vitamin A- I really don't understand why people are so paranoid about it And as to toxo/listeria-well, the risk is everywhere, really- as long as you get your food from reputable sources it's very unlikely you'll catch anything.

And my doctor/midwives were pretty much relaxed about it all- it just makes sense not to eat some dodgy Chinese that has been sweating on the counter for few days, but a nice prosciutto is an entirely different thing...

[LoveBeingAbleToNamechange]

Winnie because at the end if the day if I don't have it I will defo not get ill from it. I can justabout cope for 9 mths.

I very rarely fancy pate, probably only have it twice a year.

And it shouldn't really matter why I don't want to take the risk. Posted to get it out of my system and maybe a couple of other pg mnetters would understand, plus I had started to get strange looks in the shop due to my Homer Simpson impression.

[LoveBeingAbleToNamechange]

[winnybella]

I was responding to your question about habits of pg French women and also just making a general point about unnecessary anxiety about food.

Of course no one should be forced fed pate or rare steak and it's no one's business what you eat or don't.

[MsChanandlerBong]

LoveBeing... I'm so glad it's not only me that slows down when walking down the cheese aisle in the supermarket!! And then tell DH in great detail about the amazing cheese board I am going to get in following the birth!! And I love the idea of a table of food being ready for me when I get home... I'll start dropping heavy hints now...

And I completely agree with your rationale with avoidable risks. I am constantly flabbergasted by the number of pg women who look down their noses at me because I have chosen to avoid certain foods. I feel so incredibly lucky to be having a relatively trouble free pregnancy, and that I got pregnant first go, and in my mid-thirties. Why on earth would I push my luck all for the sake of some cured meat/soft cheese/bit of booze?!

[startail]

Bad person here, I'm afraid I ate prawns, runny scrambled eggs, sipped champagne and drank coffee when PG.
I think I only gave into pate once (which was really hard). Soft cheese was easy, I hate the forbidden ones.
However, I'm not sure I dare admit to my biggest sin, whispers, unpasturised milk. Well I was woken every morning by the milking machine. The farm then bags and sells the milk. The farmer her self was quite happy to drink the milk and eat her cream for the whole of her pregnancy so I decided to live dangerously.The only other milk on the island wasnUHT.

[LoveBeingAbleToNamechange]

MsC, you defo need the table full of food for when you get home. Unfortunetly I'd had to stay in overnight and managed to get about 40 mins sleep so couldn't manage too much before I went to bed. But the fridge was full

[dreamingbohemian]

Okay, not to continue French-gate, but just want to back up winny in saying that I was pregnant in France for a bit and the only thing I was told not to eat was unpasteurized cheese. I was also told occasional drinks are fine and I saw a number of pregnant women drinking in restaurants (one was even drinking AND smoking). I actually found people more relaxed about pregnancy generally, but then again this was in the south of France.

OP do you like goat cheese? there are some nice creamy ones that make a good substitute for brie

[LoveBeingAbleToNamechange]

Thanks for the suggestion but not really can't stand it.

[Quenelle]

Youremindmeofthebean The FSA and the Government's advice regarding peanuts and family history of allergies was revised in 2009.

Peanuts in Pregnancy

Two years later health professionals are still giving the out of date advice.

[Badgerwife]

Just because you're French or live in France doesn't mean all you eat is unpasteurised cheese, pate and cured meats!!! The rules are the same there as here.

I've been very good throughout my pregnancy, despite craving a Camembert sandwich pretty much from the start - but then I can't think of a nicer treat than fresh bread, cheese and olives as a Sunday night dinner...

I finally gave in last week at 36 weeks and had a bit of soft goats cheese, it was heavenly. I think as long as it's pasteurised and hasn't got a rind, it's ok. Anyway, I thought, at this stage, what's the worst that could happen, baby's ready to pop anyway?

In any case, DH has been warned that once I've had the baby, I want him to get me a fresh baguette, some Le Rustique Camembert and dry sausage and present it to me in the recovery room come what may...

[JenaiMarrHePlaysGuitar]

The listeriosis risk doesn't decrease once you reach the 3rd trimester, Badgerwife.

Not having a go (particularly as, afaik the cheese you ate was perfectly safe), but I would hate for someone to read your post and think otherwise.

[Badgerwife]

Jenai, thanks for clarifying, I didn't think how that would come across and was lost in fantasy when I suddenly realised that baby could now be born any time and I'll be able to have all sorts of french cheeses once again, the bliss!

I wouldn't eat anything with a rind full stop. But it was drilled into me at the beginning that "all cheese apart from Cheddar is evil" and that is simply not true.

[blimeythatwasquick]

ah ha! icravecheese that explains why I was given the extreme evil eye when I asked for a glass of petit chablis (if you're only having the one now and again my view is make it a good one!) at the place we stayed at in France last week. And there was me thinking in France they'd be super laid-back. Mystery solved :-)

[JenaiMarrHePlaysGuitar]

Oh I remember that feeling!

Everyone who visited me in hospital after I had ds (I had an emcs so was in for a few days) brought me wine. All the other new mothers on the ward got flowers (I had some of them as well!) and helium balloons but me? I was surrounded with booze

[Xiaoxiong]

Sigh...I find this stuff so confusing, after having a detailed convo with my midwife and reading all the books I've not had any blue cheese, brie/camembert, pate, liver, booze, cured meats.

I've had cheeseburgers, steak (cooked medium and seared on all sides), fully-cooked shellfish, pasteurised soft cheeses like Boursin. We eat loads of prawns but I do make sure they're fully cooked...

Had NO idea about green salad, scrambled eggs, peanuts or coffee!! I don't have more than one coffee a day anyway so hopefully that will be fine, but I have a green salad at practically every single meal so no idea that could be a problem. I even told my midwife about how we have a green salad every day when we discussed my diet and she said it was good because I would have loads of fibre and vitamins!

I hate all these guidelines...yet more ways to feel guilty in one way or another...

[GrendelsMum]

In Canada a couple of years ago, the advice on pate was that it was fine to make your own home made liver pate and eat it within 24 hours.

[winnybella]

What's wrong with drinking coffee in pregnancy?

[Quenelle]

What's wrong with eating peanuts in pregnancy?

[sherbetpips]

binfullofmaggotsonthe45 - french womean still eat and drink those things.
My SIL is a devout Christian - she didnt drink alchohol but she still ate everything as she felt it was gods will. she didnt have scans either as whe was over 40 and figured there was nothing they could tell her that would change her mind.
The reality is all of those things (apart from alchohol) have the potential to carry serious bacteria if stored or cooked incorrectly. If you are storing and cooking yourself then it is less of a risk but not one most of us are prepared to take!

[Crosshair]

I thought lots of caffine in early pregnancy has a chance to cause a mc?

[MsChanandlerBong]

Tyelperion - salad is good for you! It is the dirty bits that can be 'attached' to it which carry a risk. So as long as it is properly/thoroughly washed you'll be fine. Hence why some people choose to avoid eating salad in a restaurant where you don't know how well it has been cleaned. But if you are eating at home, then presumably you're washing everything well.

[MsChanandlerBong]

Jenai - That sounds great! I hope after I give birth my area in the ward resembles a lovely boozy buffet!! I will reject all flowers and tell them to go away and find me some cheese

[Badgerwife]

I've never heard anything about green salad, what a lot of balls. My understanding is that you can have coffee (1-2 cups a day is absolutely fine, just not more) and peanuts (unless there's a history of severe allergy in the family). Apart from the obvious no-nos due to toxoplasmosis and listeria, I think a little bit of most things is better than having lots of the same thing.

I craved burgers in early pregnancy and had them, it was clearly what my body wanted!