Dos and donts What do I need to know

[danceintime]

I'm 44 and 4+6 weeks pregnant, it's been 18 years so nice my last pregnancy. Doctors appointment is next week. I can remember the usual stuff like no soft cheese or runny eggs .. but that's about it what should I be doing and not doing. Eating and not eating .
Any new advice regarding sickness? What about caffeine? What about work? When should I tell them?
I've got my folic acid just want to be bombarded with advice really 😄

NHS website is pretty good but the main jist is no soft cheese (unless cooked), cook meat well done, no liver or pate and avoid cured meats. You can have runny eggs if they are lion stamped. Take folic acid and vitamin D.

Congratulations as well.

Download a few pregnancy apps I've found the great for advice and also some good discounts.

A lot of the food avoidance advice has been minimalised now unless you're a regular eater of shark or swordfish there's little to worry about - it's more just being extra careful to avoid products that may cause food poisoning eg prawns when eating out as they need to be thoroughly cooked etc

Also take a look on the NHS website for health and medical related advice

Congratulations!!

Caffeine works out to about 2 cups of coffee a day. For maternity pay you need to tell work by 25 weeks.

Sorry about multiple replies.

In terms of telling work it's on your in terms really - obviously when you get your mat1 you can formally inform them. I told my boss in confidence at 8 week purely because I was exhausted and didn't want him to think I was lazy or hungover!!

Good news - runny eggs have become safe since your last baby (because salmonella is no longer in UK flocks). As long as it's Lion stamped you can have your egg runny. The cheese rules are also a bit complicated (but also give you a bit more leeway!) than just 'no soft cheese'. Have a look at this (which also covers caffeine): www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/foods-to-avoid-pregnant/

It's actually less restrictive than lots of people think - and ignore US websites (which tend to come up first if you Google), they have different banned foods to us due to different farming practices.

I personally didn't tell work until after my 12 week scan, but it depends if anything at your work needs adjusting for you (eg you work with dangerous chemicals) or if you're too ill to work in the first trimester - pregnancy related sickness is treated differently, so it's in your interest to tell them if you're having time off because of it.

Congratulations!

Just enjoy sleep and if you get terrible heartburn and reflux go to the GP and get omeprazole, it's safe to take in pregnancy and is so much better than Gaviscon which makes you thirsty.

You can eat runny eggs now! So long as they're lion stamped. NHS guidelines here
I would recommend Emily Oster's book Expecting Better which gives a statistical reasoning behind the dos and donts.

you can eat runny eggs (hallelujah!) as long as they are lion stamped :)

no prawns unless thoroughly cooked (not out of the packet, but in a cooked curry is fine)

I would tell work straight away, as long as youre not in danger of losing out on mat pay? (i have a friend who started a new job, told them straight away, while on probation, and they actually found reasons to let her go, so she missed out on mat pay...)

Oh wow thanks everyone and thanks for telling me about the about the eggs!
@cleopatracomingatya that's worrying I'm in a new job probation ends Christmas . I'd have thought that being pregnant would give you more protection from unfair dismal as women are pregnant women are somewhat protected from that?