Listeria

[ElizaFlo]

Hi everyone!
I am 14 weeks pregnant. I have been avoiding deli meat, unpasteurized cheese, unwashed veggies…all the things. I am terrified of Listeria.
Tonight my husband ate a bite of a turkey sandwich at an event. He just ate the one bite but then he kissed me!
Can I get listeria from this? Someone please help either ease my mind or tell me the facts.

Thank you!!!

You will be fine. Speak to your midwife about your anxiety

Turkey isn’t on a list of suggested things to avoid. Take a look at the nhs page on pregnancy and what foods to avoid.

A book called Expecting Better by Emily Oster may help you get your anxiety under control. It examines the advice given to women when they are pregnant and explains why.

It is a science based risk analysis rather than a one size fits all handout from the NHS that caters to the lowest common denominator.

It's gonna be a long 9 months..

The risks of listeria in pregnancy are so massively overblown, which is annoying, as it causes so much anxiety to women.

According to the world health organisation, in the general population there are 0.1 to 10 cases per 1 million people per year. Only a tiny number of those cases will be in pregnant women, and even in many of those women, their babies will be fine, as listeriosis is treatable by antibiotics.

I doubt anyone has contracted listeria, anywhere, ever, by kissing someone who ate a bite of a cooked meat sandwich. Your level of anxiety about this is a potential issue though, OP, and if this is not a one-off (if you are this anxious in general about your pregnancy) then I think you should try to get some professional guidance, for your own sake, and I mean that kindly. All the best with your pregnancy!

You will be absolutely fine.

You can eat packaged meats like ham and turkey in the UK. It's advised to be careful with cured, uncooked meats like salami, pepperoni, etc. These cured meats can be made safer by cooking them.

You will be absolutely fine with your contact with a turkey flavoured kiss and could have eaten the sandwich itself with no issues.

Please get some support for your anxiety, for you and your baby's sake. Why is there so much hysteria on here at the moment about the most silly things related to pregnancy.

Thought I'd post here. I am 26 weeks with my first baby and things like this got to me for a while.
There are so many guidelines and it can seem scary. I now feel more relaxed, but understand your worries.
You haven't consumed the turkey sandwich - you will be fine. I also eat cooked ham, chicken and turkey slices all the time it's been cooked. It's the cured meats like salami and palma ham ect they say to avoid. I also ate soft blue cheese a month or so ago it was cooked but again got worried. I have a cat which I have to clean her tray out. I spoke to midwife about this as again was worrying. - I use gloves and bags and thoroughly wash my hands after. This is all OK.
If you go to buffets and eat the cured meats and soft cheeses that have been sat there getting warm the chances of contracting listeria increase. You do not get listeria only when pregnant. All people can get it. It's just the affects it can cause when pregnant that's the worry. Someone said to me how often have you become ill after eating soft blue cheese?
I have eaten alot in my time ahah and my answer was zero so they made me see it in a different light.
So I ask you how many times has your husband and you been ill with listeria after eating a turkey sandwich 🥪 xx hope this helps ease anxiety even if just a bit as i know first hand its not nice xxxx