Pregnant & Autistic Diet

[Negangirlxx]

Hi 👋🏻

I’ve recently found out that I am pregnant. I am in my 30’s, and I have Asperger’s, which means my diet is very restricted, due to issues with textures, taste, smells, etc.

I’ve got 5mg Folic Acid from the doc, and Pregnacare, but I’m so worried about keeping this baby healthy with my crap diet.

I don’t eat fruit, and the only veg I eat at the moment, is potatoes, and onion. Mostly cos I have issues with the texture of the food itself, not so much the taste. I’m very much the classic “beige food diet”. I can drink fruit Smoothies, and fruit juices, as long as they don’t have bits in, same with yoghurts and soups.

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated. I’d love ideas on snacks and meals, to keep this bub healthy.

And yes, I know the importance of a balanced diet, I’ve been to nutritionists, and even hypnotherapists, but unfortunately, the Autism always wins. No matter how much I’d love to have a more varied diet. So please, no hate.

Can you eat a tomato sauce on pasta? You can puree all sorts of veg in there including kale, carrot, courgette etc.

Up until about 16 weeks I lived off a beige diet, at one point I couldn’t remember the last time I’d even considered eating a vegetable. There were many days that I ate the same meals as my autistic nephew, who sounds similar to yourself with texture issues

I’m 38 weeks now and baby is weighing 7lbs 5 with no issues so I wouldn’t worry, eat what you can tolerate to get yourself through it!

I'd keep up with the smoothies as they sound like a good way of getting fruit and veg into your diet if they're something you can cope with eating.

Whatever you eat will be ok though, I promise. I ate dreadfully at the start of this pregnancy (lots of Wotsits!) and everything is fine with the baby :)

I'm also autistic by the way!

Could you eat soups? Like smoothies that's another good way of hiding veg without having to deal with the texture. I have a blender stick to get rid of nasty lumps as I only like smooth soup.

Thank you so much guys.
I don’t think people realise how hard simple things like this can be when you’re autistic.

I am definitely gonna look into blending stuff up and seeing if I can work with that. I do like pasta dishes so that’s a good place to start. I did wonder if maybe looking at the baby food aisle to see if there was something puréed or suchlike that I could get down my neck.

What happens if you try to eat it?
i have some sensory issues and I’m ND, sometimes things make me gag or feel sick
sometimes they’re just unpleasant on the way down and I hate it but I could power through it if it was quick and I was motivated. I’ve tried to do a bit of that just for the nutrition. I know obviously for some people they’re just sick though, so that’s why I ask.
Some women survive on crisps and things for weeks at a time in early pregnancy, so take the vitamins and maybe don’t worry too much.
definitely a pp said, pasta sauces and anywhere you can ‘sneak’ veg in. Smoothies etc. Try to get red meat and white meat, or beans and pulses in if you can eat them too as that’s also nutritious, and things with calcium and fiber, fruit and veg are just some of the things you need. Maybe if you are getting the other stuff you’ll feel better anyway. Even things like cans of beans are 1 of your 5 a day.
i also hate some things cooked but like it raw, or vice versa, that obviously changes the texture, I imagine you’ve already tried that though.
If you are ok with potato texture have you tried butternut squash? and if onions are ok, would spring onions be, could you do a mainly noodle but tiny bit of veg stir fry with spring onions on top for example, regular onions in the stir fry, that could be like 3 veg easily of your 5 a day, plus a smoothie, then baked potato for lunch would take you to 5, with not much ‘newness’
good luck! You can only do what you can

If it's the only way you can eat fruit, stick with smoothies, ideally make your own though. Would you eat a fully smooth soup? Might be a good way to have veg. Or puree veg into a pasta sauce?

This is all really good advice that I’m going to start putting into practice. I think getting things blended is a really good idea as I’m alright with smooth textures. The putting onions in a stir fry seems like a fab idea too I could do that.

I know some brands make “hidden veg” foods and sauces that I could try and incorporate which I think would really help.

Thanks for making me feel better about my diet and not talking down to me the way some people tend to do.

But yeah if it’s not a safe food I tend to gag quite badly. So it’s not pleasant for me haha

I agree just keep drinking your smoothies you can add some green veg if you can tolerate it, lots of NT women survive on beige food when they are in early pregnancy because its all they can stomach or manage. as long as you eat that is the main thing.

In the fresh meat section in Tesco they do meatballs made from meat and very fine/pureed veg. This is one way to included hidden veg. Has the consistency of meat when cooked. Good luck OP xx

Have you tried eating frozen veg like peas and corn.. leave them out for 5 mins so they soften a bit, the texture is very different

Cant you eat lentils and other beans and pulses in soups and stews? They are full of good nutrients.

Can you eat nuts? Raw unsalted nuts are very good for you

Are there any strong flavoured foods you like? If so try pureeing amd hiding veggies in those first

Take a really good multivitamin and multimineral every day

Congrats on the baby and good for you for recognising that some advice on this could be helpful

I am totally new to this whole thing. I’ve never been pregnant, I don’t want my baby to struggle in the ways I have. I want it to have such a better life than me, and to be much healthier, and have a good start in life.

I do worry about my child being autistic. That’s my biggest fear. I don’t want it to go through all the crap I’ve been through.

Another autistic here too. You have lots of great ideas, the only thing I’d add would be instead of the pre-made smoothies you’d be a lot better making your own. A lot of the nutrients in the pre-made ones are lost during the making process. If you buy the bags of frozen fruit and blend them up with some fruit juice they’ll be a lot healthier for you.

Definitely use the smoothie and soup thing! Get a really good blender so you can make them smooth.

You can get raw green veggies with orange juice/banana/strawberries
How are you with herbs and spices?

Totally get this worry. Myself and my ADHD husband have managed to produce a seemingly NT three year old though so, though yes the conditions are genetic, it doesn't seem like it's a 100% chance that any children of ours will be ND.

I’m not good with spicy food tbh cos I have IBS so I try to avoid anything too spicy. Herbs in general I probably wouldn’t have an issue with.

Oh thank god.
It’s honestly my biggest worry.
My partner is NT, but I still stress about it.

I'm not autistic but for all 3 of my kids(all perfectly healthy) I had a horrendous beige diet as that's all I could stomach for the first 20 weeks

Some great ideas here and well done for trying, I just wanted to reassure you that baby should be absolutely fine if you struggle a bit

I honestly wouldn't worry or try to change anything too much. Baby will be fine - woman have been producing healthy babies since we lived in caves and ate naff all. Carry on eating what you like and know you can eat.

I was so horribly ill in my first pregnancy that I couldn't face anything other than plain baked potatoes and Rice Krispies. I think that was all I ate for about 27 weeks. My baby was a bouncing 8lb 12.5oz daughter.

So don't get stressed out. If your diet is keeping you alive, then it is keeping your baby alive.

Good luck with the pregnancy!

Do you know what it is about the texture? Stringy, chewy, squishy, crunchy? Maybe we can suggest you some weird vegetable you've never tried that had a different texture! Would something like vegetable crisps, or sweet potato or root vegetable wedges/chips help? They're fatty and salty, but higher fibre than potatoes whilst having the same texture. Do you like apple turnovers or fruit crumble/pie?

Where I live, they sell lots of hidden veg carb products like pizza bases, wraps and pasta. They're not quite the same as the beige version, but they certainly don't have vegetable texture.

Can you make a mixed vegetable soup, and make it smooth with a blender? You can put in any veg you like, and add seasoning (possibly cream stirred through just before serving.

Or else add mashed veg to mashed potatoes?

What about smooth yoghurts? Possibly making your own with added pureed fruit?

I had bad morning sickness (HG) and could hardly eat anything at all. What I could eat was plain and beige, no veg or fruit at all I couldn't even manage onions or potatoes. I lost weight, and also ended up on prescription iron tablets for anaemia. I did take folic acid and healthy start vitamins (are they still a thing?) Baby was absolutely fine.

No food ideas, but reassurance that pregnancy often makes women unable to eat a wide balanced diet because of sickness (etc) and the babies are fine.

Also, possibly reassuring or maybe not - your body will prioritise the pregnancy so if anyone will end up deficient in anything, it will be you (hence the old wives' tales about losing a tooth per baby, as the calcium had to come from somewhere) - so as long as you are eating something and taking a multivitamin and folic acid the baby will be OK and you will be too.

You’ve gotten plenty of helpful replies here OP but just wanted to add that I wouldn’t worry too much about your diet in the first trimester. All I ate for the first few weeks with DS is cheese pizza (and yes, for breakfast too). Baby just takes what it needs from you- kids, sucking the life right out of you from the very beginning 😂 congratulations and good luck!

I’m almost 16 weeks and all I’ve survived on so far is beige food and chocolate! Now my stomach is settling a bit I’m managing to have some orange juice (not the same I know), but the fibre is great for pregnancy constipation, and making sure I have some plain almonds/ brazils/ walnuts every day. I’ve even managed to blend some berries and put them in Greek yoghurt. As for veggies I’m not on board with them yet!

Don’t feel bad for a beige or bland diet, it seems like a lot of pregnant women survive on bread and pasta!