18 weeks pregnant - accidentally ate a slice of bread with mould on it!

[dreamerkr]

Hey guys I’m currently 18 weeks pregnant. I just accidentally ate a slice of bread that had a bit of mould on it on the side and I’m freaking out now! It wasn’t even out of date and it was in the fridge!! I don’t know what to do, I’m giving myself a bad headache because of this and I feel like I’m going mad. I just want to cry because I feel so bad and so guilty. It actually had a bit of green mould on it. Like how?!! It wasn’t even out of date! Anyone have any advice on what I can do? Will this harm the baby? It tasted normal but it freaking had mould on it. On one side. Oh god. I’ve texted my midwife but idk when she will reply. I feel absolutely fine yet but I only ate it half an hour ago. Please guys any advice would be really helpful! And please be honest. 🥺

OP sorry about the comments from people who clearly don't know/remember how heightened your anxiety will be during pregnancy! People can be so dismissive of others feelings sometimes.
You will be fine ☺️it's completely natural to worry about things like this whilst pregnant, but it won't harm your baby. If you're really concerned maybe pop in to a chemist, just so you can totally put your mind at rest.

Thank you so much guys ❤️

Follow your thoughts through. You eat some bread, it has mould on it which we know not to be harmful as it's common and there are zero health warnings. You may not even have ingested any if it was on the edge. If you did - it's chewed and goes into your stomach where any mould will be totally obliterated by stomach acid. We have evolved strong acid over thousands of years to keep us well, it works. Then it carries on its life as any other digested food. And that's it. No need to worry. No need to involve midwife or GP because you already know what you need to know - that this is not harmful. They don't have any special knowledge you need to access - you don't need their qualifications to know this is not a harmful situation - you'd be using them to soothe your anxiety.
If your anxiety is high, if your midwife isn't already aware, you could bring this to her attention in a non-panicked/urgent way so she can source further support for you if necessary.

I was out for the day once and took a picnic. Took one bite of the bread and realised it had a small amount of mould. I had a choice of having no lunch or eating the sandwich with mouldy bread. I ate the whole thing and my stomach didn't even flinch. I wasn't pregnant but even if I had been, none of that mould would get to the baby if it didn't make me ill.

I had a severe case of norovirus at 16 weeks with my DD that resulted in me being admitted to hospital. Baby was absolutely fine! Our bodies are designed to protect them as much as possible from our illness.

I understand the anxiety following recurrent miscarriage (I had 3 MC) but honestly, what you eat isn't going to have any bearing on it. I actually took more risks on my 4th pregnancy (pink steak, brie, small glasses of wine here and there) and that was the one that resulted in a healthy baby.

I always eat mouldy bread. I won’t waste it just because one corner has gone a bit not-quite. I just tear the mouldy bit off and toast the rest.

I understand your anxiety but seek some support for it (not reassurance seeking each time you’re triggered, just overall coping strategies). As you’re pregnant you’re heavily prioritised for mental health support.

The only thing I didn’t have during pregnancy was pâté. Because of the Vit A. Everything else I ate and drank with a consultant’s blessing, because it really doesn’t matter.

I understand the panic after recurrent miscarriage when you do something ‘wrong’ or ‘risky’, but the way I look at it when I need to talk myself down is: if it was that easy to give yourself a miscarriage then why would there be any need for medical abortions and everything women have to go through to get them.

I hope that makes sense and doesn’t offend anyone - I just remember watching an episode of call the midwife and seeing the lengths some women went to to try to end their pregnancies, and wondering why I was panicking about having a cup of tea or a McFlurry!

Plus after many miscarriages I can 100% confirm that a doctor has never asked about what I’d eaten/drunk or anything else that could have ‘caused’ it.

When I was pregnant with one of my dcs I drank milk that was 1 month past its use by date for a whole week! Not sure how I didn't realise that 🤦‍♀️. The baby was completely unaffected and, luckily, is a lot brighter than I am!