panic over pheasant during pregnancy

[peggyjean]

Hi there, I think I am being irrational but just looking for some reassurance.

I am 20 weeks pregnant after 5 very difficult years of trying. I am prone to anxiety (anyone looking at my previous scant posts will see there is a theme!) but think I have done pretty well keeping a lid on it so far, though I have been cautious with how excited I will let myself get.

Yesterday was our anomaly scan, I know I have found it tough waiting for this all through Christmas but thankfully everything was well, which was a huge relief.

However! That evening we went to MIL for Christmas celebration with her. She is lovely and supportive but a fair bit of food served I couldn't eat (soft cheese, cured meats etc). The main course was pheasant and venison, I avoided the venison because it was a bit pink (how I love it usually), and had a small portion of pheasant, chewed carefully but am not totally sure I didn't swallow a small piece of shot. Came home and checked the NHS website and promptly went into a tail spin of anxiety...DH is fantastic but thinks I am over-reacting but the science of it is that lead can cross the placenta and even a small amount can harm brain development.

Can anyone reassure me that I am being ridiculous please over one small portion of meat?! Especially anyone medically minded or who has experience of eating game birds through pregnancy and all has been well?

Thanks so much and a happy new year to all x

I promise you, all will be fine xxx

I have eaten game throughout a previous pregnancy and all was fine. If you chewed your food you would definitely know if you had eaten shot! Meat which is slightly pink rather than rare/bloody will also be fine. Talk to your midwife if you're still worrying though. I found my anxiety really escalated during my first pregnancy.

www.food.gov.uk/safety-hygiene/lead-shot-game

You may have read this but it seems pretty clear that it is only potentially harmful if consumed regularly, I.e. one possible small exposure won't be harmful. Where was the bird obtained?

I have eaten a lot of game. The shot is quite big and very noticeable - if you were chewing carefully, I am sure you would have detected it.

If you are feeling very anxious about everything, have a chat with your GP. There will be many opportunities for anxiety to crop up with a new baby and it can make you miserable, but there are techniques that you can use to control excessive anxiety so you can enjoy your baby. Good luck!

Definitely speak to your midwife, they will have ways to help you with your anxiety. I have been there myself during my pregnancy following years of miscarriages and fertility treatment and I know how everything becomes a worry. Don't let yourself keep these worries quiet

There is no way that you wouldn’t have noticed shot in your meat. Please stop worrying.

Goodness, I wasn't expecting so many kind replies so quickly, thank you all so much, you've really helped to settle my mind.

I am taking the advice to speak to MW about anxiety on board, but I think one of the reasons I am so grateful for Mumsnet is that my midwife is quite an elusive creature! Lovely in person on the one occasion I have met her but when I try to ring her no-one ever picks up or returns calls or messages, it's impossible to get her on the phone. But that's a good thought to speak to GP instead, I will do that.

MyKingdomForBrie (I am strongly connecting with this handle right now!), thank you for the link, it is very helpful. The meat came from a local butcher, I rang them this morning and told them I was being an anxious pregnant lady and asked if they knew lead shot was used and was a bit alarmed by how quickly he said "yes! you need to be very careful!"

I think I was careful and as a number of you say, shot isn't easy to miss.

Thanks again all, can't tell you how reassuring it has been to read your responses x

The reason the butcher said to be careful of lead shot was probably just because people break their teeth on it. Not exposure for unborn baby.

I know it doesn't help much, but remember people used to have lead pipes in their houses and ingest lead dissolved in water on a daily basis. Even if you swallowed a piece of shot, you would pass most of it, and the only dose would be from whatever lead dissolved in your digestive juices (a worry if you're doing it every day, completely insignificant as a one off)

What I found helpful during pregnancy was going to google news and searching for each scenario distressing me.

Eg. Pregnant woman lead shot

The lack of news stories about the incident was almost always enough to reassure me

What’s shot 😳

@Halloweenbabyy it's the tiny pieces of lead inside a shotgun shell which fragment on impact, leaving little pieces inside. There are several campaigns to outlaw lead shot for various reasons.

@EstebanTheMagnificent omfg. That’s horrendous. Now I remember why I’m veggie 🤮