What can I eat?!

[CWhiting92]

Hi mums to be and hopeful mums to be! I have just found out I am pregnant with baby number 1 and so excited but slightly overwhelmed with everything I now need to know!

Main one is food?!

I have googled what I can and can't eat and probably need to make a list of things that I would normally eat that I can't now. Are there any less well known foods that I should avoid?!

Thank you lovelies x

Congratulations! I keep getting told there are lots of restrictions but there really aren’t. You just need a balanced diet. Avoid vitamin a which is found in things like liver, eggs that are lion stamped are fine if your in the U.K. and your told to avoid unpasteurised cheese. Wash fruit and veg before eating and make sure food is properly cooked and meat is well done

Congratulations!
I am almost 11 weeks pregnant and I've just been using the NHS website as a reference for advice.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/foods-to-avoid-pregnant/

Go to the NHS pregnancy website. There’s a comprehensive list. there aren’t that many prohibited foods - so you should be able to eat normally

You can eat normally, just watch your caffeine intake. The only thing I’ve done is swapped to decaf tea, everything else is normal!

Congrats! The Ovia pregnancy app has a food safety lookup feature which I use (also has the same feature for medicines). It can be a little over-cautious but it’s a handy quick reference guide

Another vote for the NHS website - if you Google you might find quite a lot of American advice which restricts things the NHS say are safe to eat here.

One slightly odd one I only came across accidentally is bean sprouts - they need to be cooked through to avoid salmonella and E.coli. Who knew?!

Wow thank you guys. I will definitely look at that app! I don't have a midwife appt until I am 11 weeks is that normal also?!

Yes, anywhere between 8 and 12 weeks seems normal for your first midwife appointment.

Two things I didn't realise you couldn't eat were buffalo mozzarella (unless it specifies pasteurised - though normal mozzarella is fine), and salami / Parma ham.

Pretty much everything. Even paté just dont eat loads. Avoid soft blue cheese though as that could lead to blood poisoning in the baby.

PS congrats OP!

Another vote for the NHS website. Try not to worry too much though. I was pretty relaxed about the whole food thing. I cut down to one machine coffee a day but drank load of tea and decaf coffee.

You can eat salami/ Parma ham if it's been cooked or if you freeze it for 4 days before eating

Try not to worry! The main things to avoid are alcohol, lots of caffeine (a couple of cups of tea a day is fine) foods very rich in vitamin a and unpasteurised milk (including milk products like cheese unless then cooked). High risk situations like buffet last should be carefully considered ensuring foods are piping hot. Unless you lived on liver cooked in stout topped with unpasteurised cheese I would not worry too much in the U.K. as food hygiene is pretty good

The risk with pâté is listeria so wouldn't matter if you ate a small portion or a ton of it. NHS advice is to avoid.

Thanks again everyone this is so helpful!

I thought the problem with pate was the vitamin A.

Yes meat based pate should be avoided due to vitamin A content and other varieties due to listeria risk

Congratulations!

I always read no deli meat & that confused me last pregnancy.. can you not eat say ham or chicken sandwiches?! Then I was confused if it just meant meat literally off the deli counter & pre-packed was OK?!

I’m delighted they’ve changed the rules on eggs! I love eggs and I hated having to eat over cooked scrambled & poached eggs!

NHS doesn't say to avoid deli meat.

You shouldn’t eat any deli style meats, or deli foods, including salami, because of the threat of listeria.

No sushi or other raw meats because of the risk of toxoplasmosis.

Im pregnant and my eating habits haven't changed, apart from feeling sick constantly is taking abit of a knock on my appetite lately.

You are not correct

Deli meats are fine. Cured meats are ok if you freeze it first or have them cooked. Sushi is also ok as long as the fish had been frozen beforehand

www.nhs.uk/conditions/listeriosis/

The issue with sushi is knowing whether or not it’s been flash frozen.

Sushiand pregnancy

It's fine to eat raw or lightly cooked fish indisheslikesushi when you're pregnant, as long asanyraw wild fishused to make it has been frozen first.

This is because, occasionally, wildfish contains small parasitic worms that could make you ill. Freezing kills the worms and makes raw fish safe to eat. Cookingwill also kill them.

Certain farmed fish destined to be eaten raw in dishes like sushi, such as farmed salmon, no longer need to be frozen beforehand.

This is because farmed fish arevery unlikely to contain parasitic worms as a result of the rearing methods used. If you're unsure, contact theFood Standards Agency (FSA)for advice.

Lots of the sushi sold in shops is not made at the shop. This type of sushi should be fine to eat–if a shop or restaurant buys in ready-made sushi, the raw fish used to make it willhave been subject to an appropriate freezing treatment.

If you're in any doubt, you might want to avoid eating the kinds of sushi that contain rawfish, such as tuna.

The safest way to enjoy sushi is to choose the fully cooked or vegetarian varieties, which can include:

cooked seafood–for example, fully cooked eel (unagi) or shrimp (ebi)
vegetables–for example, cucumber (kappa) makiavocado–for example, California roll
fully cooked egg

If a shop or restaurant makes its own sushi on the premises, it must still be frozen first before being served. If you're concerned, ask the staff.

If you make your own sushi at home, freeze the fish for at least 4 days before using it.