99 cone!?

[morepizzapls]

hi all,

I didnt know you weren't supposed to eat soft ice cream from shops/stalls!? I'm 21 weeks pregnant and just had one - cue horrified gasp from my friend when I told her (who is also pregnant).

I've looked on the nhs website foods to avoid and I cannot see anything that says you cant have soft ice cream? I understand people might be weary of ice cream Van's more so than shops/permanent stalls etc. but if it was a huge risk surely it would be on the nhs website?

friend is berating me currently!

It's to do with the risk of infection from the machine used. The risk is very minimal. I wouldn't be worried.

I think it’s the risk of listeria from the mr whippy machines and McFlurry machines,

Dirty pipes from the machines

ooh I see, I wonder why they havent put it on the nhs website. I don't think I would of even heard of that risk before! I'll try rationalise the risk in my head I dont want to panic

Yeah, it’s the listeria risk. My midwife said it was the current advice, but debated.

Although McDonald’s have said McFlurries are fine, as the machines are self cleaning between serves and have been for years now.

I wouldn’t worry too much.

I really wouldn't worry about it.

I was advised to steer clear by my midwife in 2005 due to the risk of listeria infection from the product gathering in the pipes but it wasn't mentioned with my second in 2013 so it can't be that big a deal!

Think of it this way... have you ever had listeria or become ill from a soft whippy Icecream in your life? The risk is minimal

Weary of ice cream vans? Never! Wary maybe.

If it's not on the NHS list of stuff to avoid then it's obviously not deemed a risk worth informing people about. Enjoy your ice cream! I'm pregnant and wouldn't think twice about getting one. In fact I'm going to get a McFlurry this week

The risk is tiny. Don’t worry. I have never even heard of anyone in the Uk having listeria from soft ice cream let alone a pregnant woman. I am also pregnant and had a few this pregnancy (but I also eat soft cheeses from supermarket).

I’m coming to the end of my second pregnancy and this is the first I’ve heard of it so I don’t think it can be that dangerous. Probably best to make a judgement on the hygiene of the place you’re buying it from rather than ban yourself from things like this completely.

I'm 20 weeks pregnant and I've had about 5 during my pregnancy. I'm not worried about it

I wouldn’t worry too much

I love mcflurries had about 15 so far this pregnancy 21 weeks and all is well haha. Its to do with the machines but mcdonalds clean regularly apparently

thanks for responses - I think I will just stick to the nhs website on what to avoid because otherwise it feels like its never ending!

it's from an ice cream shack/stall that is permanently on the sea front where I live.

I’ll be honest I’m 16 weeks pregnant with my second and other than booze I literally don’t even consider what goes in my mouth. I’ve never caught listeria etc from anything ever so I think the risk is pretty minimal from anything.

It's pretty much all I ate whilst pregnant with DC1. She's now 5 & driving me crackers in this heat.
I know it's easy to worry about everything though.

I've heard of it but my cravings have won out and I had the best one ever recently (they do them in corner shops in Ireland! I'm English so this is novel and exciting!) Sprinkles, sauce the works.!
Each to their own if your friend doesn't want to risk it. But risk is absolutely tiny!

I hope you enjoyed it 😊 as I also had a lovely soft ice cream yesterday with a flake also! I wouldn’t worry about it! I also had bacon and Brie sandwich for lunch which again was super tasty and I never even thought about it till after that there was something about eating cheese…

I had a friend practically leap across the table when I started to eat peanuts when pregnant. I ate away and all was well.
I also was hosting some french ladies at a work function while pregnant and asked about food restrictions they had - they looked at me as if I was mad.

@Chunkymenrock

Weary of ice cream vans? Never! Wary maybe.

I dunno, it's possible to hear enough of the bloody Match of the Day theme played on a musical box via loudspeaker.

I’m 38 weeks and had quite a few! Don’t worry too much!

Things like this infuriate me - the list of things other people think you can and can't do is ridiculous.

There's an excellent book called expecting better where the author carried out proper research into a lot of the things you should avoid during pregnancy. It's great if you want good clear facts and then the ability to make an informed decision. For example I remember reading about the actual chance of getting ill from deli meats and it was so tiny I decided it was a risk worth taking.

I've got a book given to me by the NHS (in Scotland) called 'Ready, Steady, Baby' and it does mention to avoid these ice cream vans/stalls for the listeria risk others have mentioned.

I wouldn't worry about it now though, it's done. I see it as a similar to the risk you take eating out anywhere when pregnant. We don't know the kitchens are clean, that they've washed all the side salad with your sandwich, etc. It's one of those things to be aware of and limit the risk but its impossible to avoid all risks unless you decided to cook everything for yourself and can therefore control everything.

It definitely used to be on the list of things to avoid, but the risk is tiny, and I really wouldn't worry about it.