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Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

Original poster

Things you 'mustn't' do when pregnant.

158 replies

BummyMummy77 · 02/10/2013 15:46

So this is born from my sil insisting that she will ride her very scatty dressage mare when she's pregnant. Each to their own but I've been told by more than a few ob-gyns and midwives that it's not safe due to the risk of falling and above 12 weeks - placental abruption.

For me, I stopped skiing the minute I found out (gutting, I was in the middle of a month's bloody ski holiday!). I'm 36 and have been trying to conceive for so long, maybe if I was younger I'd have been less paranoid.

What have you ladies given up or not given up?

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missmargot · 02/10/2013 17:42

I'm feeling very paranoid after an early miscarriage in February, so I have given up:
Caffeine
All the forbidden cheeses
Rare steak
Alcohol (although I still cook with a splash of wine)
Peanuts and peanut butter (DH is asthmatic which makes them more of an issue apparently)
Anything containing raw eggs
Page

Pong Cheese does a fantastic New Mum's Cheese box which is the first thing I will be ordering in January when the baby's arrived along with a very rare steak.

missmargot · 02/10/2013 17:43

Page= Pate (stupid autocorrect) and meant to say that I don't smoke so no need to give up

moobaloo · 02/10/2013 17:47

Wine... sob

Brie... yum yum

Only one or two cups of tea a day.

I don't exercise too heavily, still run a couple of miles if I feel like it and walk a lot, I am going to ride my horse but she is a quiet and well behaved creature I've owned for a long time and know very well... But I don't ride regularly anyway and don't tend to go faster than a trot as it is, so I won't be leaping any five bar gates or anything silly! I will probably stop when I get bigger as it'll be too difficult to get on!!

Thewhingingdefective · 02/10/2013 17:49

I am not pg, but during my second pregnancy I did have the odd glass of wine and eat most things on the banned list.

My sister rides and continued to do so up to the end of her pregnancy. It terrified me, but what can you do? Her choice.

tigsnchar1 · 02/10/2013 17:51

I've given up everything. Currently mid-argument with OH as to whether cooked chorizo is ok.
After a bad history, we aren't risking anything! It's not that I really think a cup of coffee would make a difference, more that if things go wrong again, I can't have anything to blame myself about. Poor English, sorry, I'm in the early stages and absolutely shattered!

Charingcrossbun · 02/10/2013 17:52

Omg - runny eggs are ok...? That is very exciting news. I asked my midwife and she was all "you must had solid yolks" which is like the well done steak - what is the point?

Pretty tempted by the lion stamped eggs... May allow myself some after my 20 week scan....

HootShoot · 02/10/2013 17:55

You can have chorizo cooked or cured tigs - according to the nhs guidelines

Isabeller · 02/10/2013 17:57

too much
too little
not enough
not what someone else did
not what someman else's Mum (or prejudice) thinks is appropriate

be too young
be too old
be unconventional

make definite plans (work, parenting style, BF/FF, birth plan)
fail to plan

use "chemicals"
eat to suit yourself
absolutely anything that can be deemed 'selfish'
answer back (remember you know nothing)

really not bitter in any way, honest Wink

HootShoot · 02/10/2013 17:57

I don't think runny eggs are offically ok, I'm going to be a bit rebellious on that though.

AnythingNotEverything · 02/10/2013 17:58

I'm waiting for someone to complain about how much they're missing eating shark Grin.

Anothermrssmith · 02/10/2013 18:02

All I've given up is cafinated tea and coffee (but I'm a ten cuppas a day kind of girl) and alcohol. I did dip my finger in hubby's glass of wine the other day though. I miss wine.

As i type I have chicken stuffed with goats cheese in the oven for dinner, though apparently that's ok as the cheese is cooked, and have kept eating my ham sandwich for lunch or buying a supermarket wrap if I'm not organised enough to make the ham sandwich! And it will take a lot more than pregnancy to make me give up chorizo (though again its always cooked in something)

IShallCallYouSquishy · 02/10/2013 18:07

I've only given up pâté and anything unpasteurised. I'm not a smoker and "giving up" alcohol when you can count on one hand how much you've drank in past year anyway, isn't really an issue.

I still drink tea like its going out of fashion. At least 4-5 mugs a day. 2nd baby so more relaxed Smile not that I followed caffeine advice with DD anyway Wink

PinkWitch803 · 02/10/2013 18:09

I have been guided by the advice on foods, but not to the point of obsession. I haven't touched pate or oysters and have had a few bites of medium steak, but not a whole one as I like mine rare but am not risking it personally.

It is like others have said, it is personal choice.

As far as physical things, I have carried on spinning through my pregnancy but am hanging up my boots now (28wks) following a bleed I had last week which was related to low lying placenta NOT spin or gym. I am just being cautious and will be taking up swimming just as soon as my new maternty swimtent arrives and I get rid of this cold.

tigsnchar1 · 02/10/2013 18:16

Thanks Hoot, I won the argument and ate it. But his argument was 'you didn't eat it with our first baby and she was ok, you did with the second and look what happened', which is pretty hard to argue against. But I did - and now am worried!
Stupid hormonal head of mine.

AhoyAhoy · 02/10/2013 18:19

Glad I'm not the only one who couldn't give up runny eggs. Eggs have been my go to food since way back in the first trimester- that protein hit without having to deal with meat (which I go off for weeks at a time). Love the variety of ways you can eat egg but nothing beats sunny side up on toast.

Have been massively craving cigarettes- was a social smoker until I found out I was pg, but so proud that I haven't given in (the thought of baby effectively suffocating and struggling for oxygen is more than enough to put me off). My mom was very surprised when I told her I'd not smoked anything (she was happy enough to tell me she smoked all through her pregnancy with me)

And totally went off tea (also a 10 or more a day habit). Really glad to be able to enjoy a cup or two a day now.

Really fancy some soft blue cheese, some yummy Roquefort would really hit the spot.

Sarahmains40 · 02/10/2013 18:22

Rare steak oh how I could just eat a big juicey bloody rare steak.

I had a 5 cans of diet coke addiction some times maybe more. and I cut right bk when I found out I was pregnant a week after cutting bk my sickness kicked in and totally went off it. Haven't had any for 8 weeks which I'm really proud off as I've tried to give it up a million times only last 2 weeks before I cave in.

I'm not a big drinker but now I won't drink at all. The girls at work are happy that they have a driver for nights out and Christmas party lol

I love pate too won't be allowed that no either it's a Christmas tradition for me that I literally eat it on toast every day over Christmas lol

And now I have rare steak in my mind again noooooo

Romily · 02/10/2013 18:39

Due to gestational diabetes I have given up all of my pleasures, no more sweeties and cake for me Sad also no alcohol and initially I was caffeine free however I am back to one coffee a day.

Most of the foods on the exclusion list I would not normally eat anyway so I do not feel too hard done by in that respect.

What I have given up is some of the housework which is a pleasant side effect of pregnancy Wink

Original poster
BummyMummy77 · 02/10/2013 18:45

strokethefurrywall You live on an island off the States? Me too!

I have the odd small glass of wine. Really missing runny eggs, not sure about the red lion equivalent in the US so I've been avoiding lovely eggs Benedict etc. And lovely bloody meat, miss that too!

There are some crazy skiers where I ski so I was more worried about someone whomping me than me falling.

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MisForMumNotMaid · 02/10/2013 18:47

Biggest/ most important thing for me to give up was taking all advice to heart. Theres just so much unsolicited advice around once you're news is out. It just carrys on after their born.

After three DC I'm getting better at hearing, smiling, nodding and filtering.

I thought cooked brie was okay now?NHS guidelines

Durring my last pregnancy I had those oven baked breaded camembert things you get in Lidl freezer section and eat with cranberry sauce.

Original poster
BummyMummy77 · 02/10/2013 19:10

anythingnoteverything I am actually missing swordfish lol!

Cooked soft cheese I'm eating. I didn't at first but then I thought - what bacteria could survive being blasted in an oven at high temps that wouldn't in meat? Those cam

tigsnchar I totally understand that. It really is more of a case of - how much would I beat myself up if something had gone wrong and I knew I'd been drinking coffee? You'd never actually know or be certain but some people (me included) are just overthink these things more.

My sil says - regarding the riding - if something goes wrong and I lose the baby it's not meant to be. A brilliant, robust mindset but not one that would work for me personally.

Oh, and I'm REALLY missing scalding hot baths!

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Original poster
BummyMummy77 · 02/10/2013 19:11

Opps *those camembert cake pie things are to die for. A little old local lady makes them and I can eat a whole big one myself.

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PinkWitch803 · 02/10/2013 19:31

I found out about the cooked cheese thing the other week. I didn't even think about it before. But then went out and bought a whole brie, flour,egg and breadcrumbed it and chucked it in the oven. Then served it with lettuce and cranberry sauce. It was amazing. Forgot about it until now! Might do it again soon, unless I forget again of course!

AmandaPandtheNightmareMonsters · 02/10/2013 19:36

Tigsnchar - that was bloody out of order of your DH and I hope you told him so in no uncertain terms. I am sorry for whatever happened with your second baby, and I can understand that you would both be cautious but blaming you for eating the wrong food is totally, totally unacceptable.

I happily drink coffee and very much do not fall into the 'if anything happened I would wonder' camp. I read up a lot during my first pregnancy on food guidelines and very little is evidence based. Or if it started out that way, it hasn't been kept up to date. E.g. runny eggs was for salmonella. Commercial eggs are now vaccinated. Hence advice should be 'no runny eggs from your neighbour's chickens or whatever unless you've checked their vaccination history'. But that's too complex. So we are all told to give it up. Or listeria. Listeriosis is a very rare, but serious, illness in pregnancy. But the list of foods outlawed because of it bears little relation to the actual source of recent outbreaks and avoiding most of the banned food is likely to make little statistical difference to your chance of getting listeria - you are more likely to get it from something not on the list since that covers far more foods. As for coffee, the evidence is weak and based mostly around very high consumption, not a couple of mugs. I'd rather have that than the process of decaffeination. Or, for that matter, I'd rather avoid artificial sweetners than caffeine (which I try to do anyway where I can).

Sorry, rant over.

Original poster
BummyMummy77 · 02/10/2013 19:48

tigsnchar oh God I didn't see that post after. I'm sorry, that is an awful thing for your DH to say and I was in no way agreeing with him!

And when I mentioned my age I didn't mean it to sound patronising or that younger Mums care less, just that I was mental until I hit 30ish.

My eggs do come from my neighbour, either that or eat nasty, crappy battery eggs pumped full of hormones, steroids, anti biotics and other nasty crap the States seem insistent on pumping into their food. I can't wait for runny eggs and soldiers.

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MummyLuce · 02/10/2013 19:54

Certainly not skiing!!! Went skiing last time at 20 weeks and got another ski hol booked at 30 weeks. No way am I giving up my annual week on snow. Given up unpastetised cheese, pâté and rare meat and coffee. Still have a glass of wine very occasionally but have gone off it anyway. Still go rock climbing!