Things you 'mustn't' do when pregnant.

[BummyMummy77]

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?

I was so good for months before TTC, then so good until week 12. I switched to green tea, gave up coffee and alcohol and beforehand I exercised hard to get in shape. I've avoided the foods you're supposed to avoid.

When I announced my pregnancy my mum and sister seemed shocked that I still wanted to run, swim, cycle, work... and didn't want to eat cake all the time. There were so many things they thought I shouldn't do, even though none of them were mentioned by NHS or midwife.

Now at 23 weeks I've chilled out far too much. I'm sick of being tired all the time, and have listened to my body (it doesn't want to run anymore!)
I've switched to walking and the occasional cycle or swim. And sadly I'm eating less fruit and more cake... and I feel less healthy than ever!

OP- Yes, the egg thing is different in different countries. I should have said I was specifically referring to the UK.

Although on that note, I find it interesting to read guidelines for different countries and find out why they are different. Saved my sanity with DD1 when I discovered that proper parma ham is fine and only cheap pretend-parma is an issue. Expensive and yummy!

I'm generally a little paranoid so have stayed away from anything the NHS advises you too, including my favourite smelly cheeses and running eggs
I don't smoke and I have stopped drinking alcohol completely since I found out I was pregnant.
I did have a 4 cans a day Diet Coke habit before but have cut that out too unless I really fancy a can and that will be once a week only. Don't drink tea and coffee either so that wasn't an issue.
The one thing I have missed over the past few days is cold and flu medicine, I have an awful cold and really wish there was something I could take!

Still spinning, not planning to stop until I have to. Really missing some decent cheese though...

I'm 27 weeks and am still riding my 6 yr old stroppy warmblood mare. Stopped hacking her as shes a nightmare for the first 5 minutes but I am still schooling and popping small jumps (ie 50 cm when shes a 1m+ jumper)
I have given up Rare steak :( pate, cheese, all alcohol, pretty much all caffeine maybe 1 glass of fizzy pop a week. I would love to go skiing and would but just no time or money at the moment.

All I have really stopped doing is lifting children/heavy lifting.

Haven't given up food or booze, just being a bit more careful I suppose. I've reduced caffeine.

Im really missing my runny yolks in my eggs... DP sits and eats them in front of me the meanie lol. Oh and i don't drink alot usually once every few month but I'd love a few drink rights now :/ oh and Mr whippy ice cream

prettyinpink90. So sorry to hear you can't take anything.

Do you have anyone who can provide TLC and an endless supply of hot black current and honey and lemon?

My dad used to put raisons in the bottom and they soak up the sweet hot honey to eat at the end.

Gave up booze, coffee, and the general list of banned foods - pate, mouldy cheese (read on NHS website that stilton is OK), can't remember any others off hand - ooh would avoid cheesecake or swordfish if offered them.

Haven't given up runny eggs because have never caught salmonella poisoning before - buying from reputable supplier - think they are probably lion stamped. Not given up smoked salmon because in fact don't think this is supposed to be harmful. Would eat medium/medium rare steak if felt like it or was at someone's house, but haven't been in that situation so far.

Have eaten the odd bit of salami or similar here and there.

Am happy to eat nuts. Cooked prawns etc fine.

Wasn't drinking tea for weeks because gone off it, but now drinking it again. It is important for me psychologically!

Haven't avoided: cycling (but not on busy roads - don't like busy roads anyway), water slides with daughter (not convinced dangerous), reasonably tame theme park rides (not every day occurrence!).

Have had occasional steam room or jacuzzi because not convinced this is dangerous either.

amandapanda it's the differing drug advice that does my head in. I've been prescribed pantoprazole for acid but the NHS says it's unsafe. :(

prettyinpink my hubby read up on diet coke when I got pregnant and has now banned me from drinking it. He says it's a lifetime ban. I act pissed off but I was actually quite shocked at how nasty aspartame is.

I have given up steak, the goats cheese with the rind, alcohol, bath salts/bubble bath (apparently gives you thrush and I don't fancy that).

Have had to give up chocolate, tea with sugar and anything very sweet because it just makes me unwell. I am not pleased with this at all :(

I want some steak and a hot bath

I haven't given up anything really - still drink wine (a glass or two), runny eggs, rare steak, even blue cheese on one occasion, and I exercise. I eat very healthily, with long-term healthy habits, so have just tried to be as normal as possible. This has been my approach to try to counter quite severe anxiety due to difficulties ttc. Each to her own, I think. For me, I would worry more about junk food and not exercising than about eggs or listeria. Oh I know what I eschewed the other day - oysters!

I'm 33 weeks btw...

& sorry about saying 'eschewed'!

I rode until 20wks I think. Didn't show until about then.

I just wanted to say I think the risk with runny eggs is not salmonella but actually Listeria same as with under cooked/raw meats. Listeria can cause miscarriage/premature labour. I thought I'd say so people can look it up and make their judgement. I'm so missing runny eggs and medium rare steak but I'm stirring clear as I did with my previous pregnancies just in case.

OP - aspartame is truly shocking stuff isn't it. Hope you were tongue in cheek when you said 'banned' though, since you're a grown up and not a naughty teenager .

The drug thing must be really frustrating. Catch 22- not ethical to test so don't know if it is safe...

Rura - I wouldn't eat oysters either. But then you couldn't pay me to eat them normally. Little balls of salty snot. Ewww.

People are giving up baths?????

Why??

I always have baths and never thought it was a problem??

Worried now.....

Baths are not a problem. Super hot lobster baths can, theoretically and in very extreme circumstances, increase miscarriage risk or cause birth defects by raising the core body temperature too much.

It's another case of extreme risk reduced to inhibiting normal behaviour.

I've given up coffee and only have 1 cup of tea a day. I'm open to having the occasional glass of wine but haven't so far. Still having runny eggs and had a medium rare steak the other day.

I stayed in a spa hotel recently and did have a quick dip in the hot tub but didn't feel brave enough to stay in for long and avoided the sauna. Really miss a scalding hot bath at the end of a long day at work.

No alcohol, pâté or blue steaks for me. Still ate runny eggs as long as they were lion stamped. Drank copious amounts of tea after my decaf tea triggered morning sickness! Ds absolutely fine? Stopped Pilates after damaging back over-stretching...damn relaxin

I stopped skiing just before 12 weeks. BUT - it was at an indoor snowdome.. all 160m of it. No trees to hit, and although theoretically people can smack into you, it wouldn't be at high mountain speeds and it's extremely rare especially when it is as quiet as it has been during the summer. Plus I couldn't do my trousers up any more and they don't seem to make maternity skiwear

First pregnancy I was the lady emailing chocolate companies asking exactly how much alcohol was in their "rum laced" truffles and freaking out when I realised mayonnaise contained raw egg.

This is my seventh pregnancy (fourth baby hopefully!) and things are a little different this time out. Not drinking more than 1-2 units a week nor more than a small cup of coffee, but I'm being a lot less careful over the rest. And I'm not giving up parma ham or runny eggs

I cut down on caffeine to 1-2 cups a day and otherwise decaf, wine I drank 1 or 2 a week until I got obstetric cholestasis which if I drank wine made the itching so much worse so not worth the torture that followed!
I also got diabetes so a lot of other goodies went out of the window!
Unfortunately I couldn't give up watching rubbish daytime tv for quite some time whilst on maternity leave, this was a hard habit to kick!

amandaoanda he says "you shouldn't" and gets this pathetic, the world is going to end look on his face that just makes it not worth it. Unless I'm trying to piss him off in which case it works perfectly. :D

Baths aren't a problem at all. Just the 5000 degrees I like mine to be. I love a bath that's so hot you feel faint for 20 minutes afterwards lol.

Oysters. I got around that one by having them cooked. They were surprisingly nice.

This thread is making me worry now. I've given up all the stuff it says to on the NHS website but am eating cheesecake and have lots of baths - the baby loves them!