What is safe to eat?

[LER2023]

So this may be a strange one and ive recent asked a what now question on this forum. Which i am super pleased with feedback from you lovely mommas!

But im struggling with food, because my partners like you sure you can eat it? Is that safe during pregnancy? Bla bla bla.

So badicslly i want to eat peperami like the little snack ones, i used to have them with my lunches and now im scared i cant and im not too sure what else to have in my lunch box anymore!😂

Grapes? Ive read multiple different things on google that says yes thats fine and no during the first trimester. IM SO LOST!

I also have grapes for my lunch.. im losing out in a lot of things i enjoy for my lunch!

So is there a definite yes and no list for foods because i feel like at this point with my OH being so crazy about it (understandable) that i just dont know what to eat anymore! Ive looked on nhs website and it doesnt say much!

Thank you in advance for asnwering possibly the most bizzare question!

I just went by what the NHS says - https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/keeping-well/foods-to-avoid/

Can I eat Peperami products if I’m pregnant?

Yeah! My meat is proper pasteurised! So you can eat it if you’re preggers, but stay away from the Peperami & Cheese Snack Box and Peperami Snack Packs.
You can check on the packaging if the product is pasteurized or not – just look above the ingredients list for more info!

And Grapes are fine too

Follow the NHS advice.

What in earth could be wrong with grapes??

The only thing I cut back on was caffeine. Everything else I ate as normal. The food guidelines I feel are all very OTT.

I avoided soft or blue cheese, pate, raw egg and raw fish. That was it.

Well I never stopped eating anything and 4 healthy children on lol

@Itsachange its on google that the skin is toxic or something, but again it was conflicting information. Its such a pain!

@Itsachange its on google that the skin is toxic or something, but again it was conflicting information. Its such a pain!

I followed this advice, but it was just a few little things that wasnt on there. Theres so many different foods in the world, i was resding i cant eat mayo and i went to the midwife on my first (now mc'd) and she wasnt too sure before saying if its pasturised i can.

Think i just need to stay off google😂

They really are OTT!! but my partner is big on trying to get me to eat stuff that wont cause any issues such as mc's (already had 2). So im trying to be careful but i love food🥲

Your partner sounds quite unhelpful, it’s extremely unlikely that you did anything to cause a MC. In the first 12 weeks less of what you eat even crosses the placenta. I have cut down on caffeine, avoided rare steak and soft/blue cheese and sushi but that’s pretty much it!

All the thinking is done for you these days - see NHS guidelines. It's so easy. Tell your partner to fuck off and leave you alone a few times, that should stop his controlling tendencies.

Yea, stay off google.

The internet is full of information but quite a lot of it (most?) is not very good quality.

Stick to the info from proper national health authorities - the NHS or Food Standards Agency in this country. It's worth also avoiding other countries' info. In America for example they say to avoid soft boiled eggs, which here in the UK are fine (so are raw eggs eg in cake mix before it is cooked) because we vaccinate chickens v salmonella.

The guidelines on most foods are because they carry a risk of food poisoning which wouldn't be ideal in pregnancy but is very very unlikely to cause miscarriage. As long as it's from a reputable source and cooked properly or pasteurised you'll be fine. A lot of stuff you read on the internet is relevant to countries that have much lower hygiene standards than the UK. Caffeine is fine it's just not recommended to have more than 200mg per day which is 4 cups of tea I believe (I don't drink coffee personally but assume it would be 1 or 2 cups)
It is a stressful time especially in the early days but just remember years ago there were none of these guidelines and women had healthy babies. My mum drank and smoked during pregnancy with my sister because they didn't know any better.She's absolutely fine!

Just because the NHS list is quite short doesn't mean it isn't comprehensive. Stick to that, ignore anything you find on Google and you'll be fine.

Homemade mayonnaise is made with raw egg so wouldn't be suitable. But a jar of Hellmans is fine.
The only thing which caught me out was bagged salad which is a listeria risk apparently - everything else is pretty obvious.
Follow the NHS guidelines and not the internet!

Even homemade is fine as long as the eggs have the lion mark. If you're making your own mayonnaise from your own chickens' eggs that might be an issue.

Having looked at the NHS guide lines they don't specific bagged salad any more. They just say to wash all salad and fruit and veg.

Homemade mayonnaise iis fine in the UK as long as you use lion marked eggs .

https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/keeping-well/have-a-healthy-diet/#:~:text=You%20should%20avoid%20eating%20some,have%20been%20vaccinated%20against%20salmonella.

Even McDonald ice cream (which I'm assuming is the questioner item) is fine because it's made with pasteurised dairy- I was very relieved to find that out when I had a huge craving for fries and strawberry milkshake!

The things to avoid is genuinely a small list and mostly common sense.

Most things on the avoid list can be made safe by cooking e.g. blue cheese/mould ripened cheese, cured meats, unpasteurised foods.

Jarred/bottled mayo is heat treated and will be safe. Homemade mayo is fine if made using lion stamped eggs.

I would just follow the NHS advice as it is relevant to food standards in the UK. Other countries have different advice as their food standards are different to ours.

It's easy to Google and be worried (I did that a few times early on) but if you just refer back to the NHS list it'll make your life easier.

It's hard being pregnant after loss but your partner needs to relax or you're both going to have a long and stressful 9 months.

Stick to nhs guidelines and most importantly stay off google. Remember a lot of it applies to other countries which don’t have such strict food standards as the uk so don’t apply here. There really isn’t that much that you can’t eat, even the nhs list is mostly stuff that only has a very small risk, so try not to worry about it

@JRTfan theres around 75mg of caffeine in tea so should only be drinking about 2 cups of tea a day, you’re right with coffee though 1-2 cups depending on whether instant or filter.