Help - cured meats

[Nelbert19]

Please help talk me down from my anxiety ledge!

I’m currently in Sicily and just had several slices of cured meats for lunch - Parma ham, salami and bologna. I’m aware of the risks in pregnancy, but pre lunch me thought ‘screw it, it’s a small risk and I’m in Italy!’

Post lunch me is now panicking.

Anyone else eat cured meats on pregnancy and ended up ok?? Or does anyone know if Italian women continue to eat cured meats when pregnant?

My oldest daughter was pretty much made of Parma ham. She's fine.

Don't panic. Its really fairly unusual for cured meats to pose a real risk.

I'm pretty sure I had parma ham or similar during pregnancy when I wasn't thinking (also ate pink steak, small glass of wine here and there, runny eggs).

DD survived and apart from occasional obnoxiousness is absolutely fine and is showing no signs of damage

The risk is they could have toxoplasmosis lurking in them. The chance of them having it is very, very small. I'm sure many, many women eat them with no issue. You could look up the signs of toxoplasmosis, but since it often has no signs or they are very similar to other things, that might make you worry more. However, if you do get any fever/flu like symptoms in the next few weeks, speak to your midwife. The government website says there are around 350 cases of toxoplasmosis diagnosed in England and Wales each year. If you think how many babies are born and how many people there are, it really is very rare. I have accidentally eaten 'bad' cheeses during my pregnancy. I think most people will do it at some point. Hope you enjoy your holiday!

I live in Spain and my worst bit is not being able to eat cured meats.
I personally wouldn't risk it but I'm sure a small amount won't make a difference. In future you can freeze the meats first.

Thanks team, I feel better about it now.

After lunch we went for a walk and I cried at a cave, so there’s a chance hormones got the better of me! 🙄

Well, if it makes you feel any better, when I was pregnant with DD I had a tantrum on holiday in France when I couldn't find a boulangerie open to buy a croissant. Full on rant and stomp - the full works

@ineednewshoes I think that’s a pretty reasonable reaction to be fair 🤪