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Original poster

Keep accidentally eating the wrong food and drinking wine...

177 replies

completelyconfused · 18/03/2008 13:46

I am around 4-5 weeks pregnant and since I found out 2 weeks ago keep forgetting I need to change what I eat! So far I have eaten sushi, gorgonzola and prawns (though some people say these are OK to eat?). I also drank 5 units of wine last week. I have resolved to do better from now on but am paranoid I have already turned my baby into a four-headed alien. Any thoughts/reassurance out there??

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sophiebbb · 18/03/2008 14:40

I always thought prawns were OK as they were cooked and in the books I read it said so. I ate them all the time throughout my first pregnancy and have eaten them all through this one (now 35 weeks pregnant). As long as they are cooked they should be fine. I obviously don't touch mussels, clams etc.

Regarding alcohol, I had a nightmare moment last night (and I got it at about this stage when I had baby number 1). I did not drink at all in the first 3 months of both pregnancies as I know this is the most delicate time. However since then I do have the odd glass of red or white wine. I am married to an Italian and when we are in Italy (which I was a few weeks ago) I even have a small glass of red wine with my pasta lunch every day (we were there for 10 days). I drink it when eating and combine with loads of water but really don't think about it. I did the same with number 1. I am now completely scared and convinced I have given my baby FAS. As I said, I had the same worry with number 1 (he is absolutely fine by the way) and don't quite know why I can't just have absolutely nothing. Very guilty.....

Original poster
completelyconfused · 18/03/2008 14:41

Thanks guys - appreciate all your help.

OP posts:
charitygirl · 18/03/2008 16:11

completelyconfused and sophiebbb - Please don't worry! Your intake of alcohol has hardly been excessive - a small glass of red wine drowned in water and pasta is not going to hurt.

And as for the food - you can drive yourself crazy worrying to no avail, and the risks are incredibly small.

I spent the first 8 weeks of my pregnancy stressing because i drank in the first 3 weeks of pg (the most important time HYPERVENTILATE) and every single glass of champagne/red wine was burnt into my memory. But I'm not doing it now, I can't change what I have done and I'm buggered if I'm not going to enjoy this pregnancy having wanted it for so long.

expatinengland · 18/03/2008 18:10

Shrimp (prawns) are fine while pregnant and when breastfeeding as long as you don't eat them raw. (Who eats them raw anyway?) Also, I'm American and have never heard that chocolate is banned in the USA while pregnant. Never heard that and went to all the major US websites and have never heard that. OB/Gyn asks, "Where did that come from?"

It is funny that certain foods are banned in certain countries. In the UK, all meat should be fully-cooked. In the US, eating beef rare is perfectly fine. It just depends on the country. Also, soft cheese is fine....if it's pasteurized. So many people say don't eat a particular type of cheese, but the type doesn't matter as long as it's pasteurized. (Of course some types that are really good and imported aren't pasteurized so can't eat them.)

PaulaYatesBiggestFan · 18/03/2008 18:12

sorry but lol at this thread esp themoon66

pelafina · 18/03/2008 18:16

Message withdrawn

TheAntiFlounce · 18/03/2008 18:18

I daren't bloody comment.

TheAntiFlounce · 18/03/2008 18:26

I daren't bloody comment.

buickmackane · 18/03/2008 18:28

How the hell can you forget??!!

expatinscotland · 18/03/2008 18:29

Enjoy it!

I'm vomitting a lot and the thought of wine or anything beyond the blandness of bread and butter sends me scurrying for the barf bucket.

expatinscotland · 18/03/2008 18:29

I'm 7 weeks on and haven't even bothered to tell anyone medical.

PaulaYatesBiggestFan · 18/03/2008 18:32

funnily enough the smell of bread (my staple diet) made me honk for the first 16 weeks!

expat i am 24 and have been once (need my free prescriptions) thet have not bothered asking after to me so i figure - why bother?

PaulaYatesBiggestFan · 18/03/2008 18:32

sorry should read 24weeks its along time since i was 24!

expatinscotland · 18/03/2008 18:34

there's nothing anyone can do right now, anyway.

expatinscotland · 18/03/2008 18:34

i can't even drink coffee, ffs.

just feel boaky all the time.

beforesunrise · 18/03/2008 18:54

i forgot i was pregnant when i was aout 8 weeks and had sushi. so i can udnerstand where you're coming from. in continental europe women are told that sushi in pregnancy is fine. on the other hand, no italian woman would touch salad unless washed 5 times in some disinfectant wash.

the prawns thing really confuses me. and re allergy- there is a school of thought now that says that total avoidance of highly allergenic foods eg peanuts INCREASES the risk of allergies. go figure.

re alcohol, the reason why alcohol is banned in the uk is that (generalisation coming) brits generally don't know how to drink in moderation. so gps and mws find it easier to recommend total abstinence (and women find it easier to adhere to that) rather than drinking in moderation. if you can drink occasionally without getting plastered- then go for it. i actually find i am craving beer like crazy (really helps my heartburn!) and will have a few sips every night and a small glass once or twice a week. mw said absolutely fine.

horseshoe · 18/03/2008 21:35

With the allergy thing....I have been told that unless there is a reason to think an allergy could occur i.e. medical history of allergies...then avoiding them is pointless.

One of my friends is eating peanuts like candy and she hasn't been discourage at all.

The messages are Very confusing!

Walnutshell · 18/03/2008 21:40

Could you see this as a really good time to have review your lifestyle and make positive changes - often easier when you are doing it for (and with!) someone else.

Enjoy your pregnancy and look after both of you.

mumofk · 18/03/2008 23:44

I spent last pregnancy worrying for days and days about having a bit of brie (still quite scarred by it, TBH) and the odd drink and other scary food stuffs that passed my lips. This time I feel so much better for eating brie or anything else when I feel like it. With hindsight, the worry I had about eating the wrong things was soooo unhealthy for me, so this time I'm just doing what my body feels like. I don't eat anything from anywhere I think might give me food poisoning anyway (who would??).
So, I'm not following government advice (End of the day, its up to you to decide what you eat,I'm not telling anyone what to do!).
For those of you who go abroad on holidays, do you stick to British advice or go onto holiday destination advice while you're there? I guess food hygiene rules'd vary too, thats all (so we might worry about brie, but our goverment thinks our salads are safe, but another post mentioned dangerous italian salads?) Just curious, I'm not going anywhere exotic!

ilovealgreen · 19/03/2008 10:17

"evidently" it's okay to eat Sushi as long as the fish has been previously frozen and that means that shop/restaurant sushi is fine as thay by law have to freeze it (to kill the worms - nice).

And of course the odd glass of wine is fine. One glass of red wine a day would be ok if that's what you wanted.

It is the binge drinking that you shouldn't do, I know I woman who once told me the mo9st drunk she ever got was when she was preggers - what a thoughtful lady.

most the advice given out on food is tosh and piffle and will be different by the next time you get pregnant.

best thing to do is to try to eat healthy and stressfree. Worrying does no one any good.

morningpaper · 19/03/2008 10:19

You'll be heaving into a bucket next week so that will remind you

I wouldn't worry TBH

bethoo · 19/03/2008 10:20

i was eating stilton wiht blueberries the other day and also eat seafood every week!!! i am 11 weeks pregnant so fear not. i thought you could eat shellfish as long as it was cooked?
i also like the continental meats like parma ham and am unsure if they are safe ot eat so abstain just in case!

bethoo · 19/03/2008 10:22

oh and i eat peanuts mostly in peanut butter and choccy bars. i think you should not eat nuts if there is a nut allergy or asthma in the family otherwise nuts are very good in pregnancy cos of all the nutrients in them.

sophiebbb · 19/03/2008 10:36

but now they are saying that you SHOULD eat nuts because if you don't expose your baby to them early and then they suddenly get exposed it could actually trigger an allergy!!! Confusing or what!

And parma ham I was told to avoid because it's not cooked - it drove me crazy to see my 16 month old tucking into it heartily!! DH's sister (Italian) had a toxoplasmosis test in Italy (it is standard) to see if she had had it in the past or not. Because she had had it she could eat raw meat products safely as she already had the antibodies. They don't offer that here (or Strep B for that matter but then that is a different story....!)

SydneyB · 19/03/2008 10:37

I am 12 weeks with my 2nd (Hi Bethoo!) - I really wouldn't worry too much to be honest. The food guidelines mostly refer to the TINY risks of listeria from soft cheese etc and toximoplasmosis (sp?) in raw meat (most of us will already have had tox. from living with pets or eating rare meat in past) and the risk of listeria is v.v. small. You won't necessarily harm your baby just because you eat brie etc. To be honest, I have ignored most of the guidelines this time around apart from big no-nos like alcohol etc. Common sense goes a long way here! There is NOTHING wrong with eating cooked prawns...