Listeria-BLT

[SophieRules]

I’m so angry at myself, I stupidly had a BLT from a supermarket not realising this was a listeria risk. Just looking for some kind words :(

I assume you mean the lettuce? It may be very well washed ij a pre-prepapred samdwich. Regardless, you're going to be ok. You ate a sandwich, you didn't do anything reckless to endamger your baby. The things pregnant women are advised to stay away from due to risk of exposure to bacteria are still incredibly small risks. Try to take your mind off it.

Just breath, babies are strong. And not all risks come true. Enjoy the day, and you can going forward change things you want to change.

If you’re not ill, don’t give it a second thought. Leaves on prepared sandwiches will have been washed. You didn’t do anything risky.

Thank you, the cold bacon and the salad, so double risk :( I’ll try to keep busy

god there is literally less than 200 cases a year of listeria in the entire UK! It’ll be a very long 18 years if you don’t put things into perspective.

my youngest is now 18 but I ate brie regularly and - shock horror - the odd glass of wine every week.

of course it’s wise to avoid risks, and of course advice has changed and we should always pay heed to recent guidelines. But honestly - you could eat a BLT every day from here on in and be perfectly fine.

enjoy your sandwich I say

I honestly wouldn’t worry about it. Very unlikely.

I once ate an entire warmed brie before the penny dropped that I shouldn't. Obviously it was fine! You've reduced the already miniscule risk by mostly avoiding these things - think about how infintesimally small the chances are that that one sandwich that accidentally snuck through is the one that is contaminated enough to cause an issue. It's also not one of the higher risk items within the category of things to avoid - if you'd eaten a bowl of bacon and lettuce from a street food vendor after a day of it sitting in the sunshine that would be more concerning!

I have a 3 month old and ate shop sandwich’s while
Pregnant with meat and salad the risk is minute. Wouldn’t even give it a second thought

It’s US guidance that says avoid deli meat. Does the NHS guidance say it? I think the risk is so small it’s not even on there.

There is no advice to avoid pre-prepared sandwiches. You will be just fine

Heated brie is fine as heating destroys any bacteria

There is a miniscule risk of listeria from pre prepared sandwiches in the UK and no advice to avoid them. Don't give it another thought, you and baby will be fine!

Assuming you’re in the UK, there’s no reason not to.

Ive had plenty of supermarket pre prepared sandwiches I didn't even think it was an issue unless it had brie or something on

I did this the other day with cold brie in a sandwich and sent myself down a massive rabbit hole and panicked. My midwife reassured me that shes been a midwife for longer than I've been alive and she has never worked with or even known closely of any woman that has had listeria in pregnancy. That reassured me a bit. What has helped more though is being referred to the Perinatal team for support with my anxiety in pregnancy - could you ask for some support with this?

If you are uk based you don’t beed to avoid shop bought sandwiches. It’s not on their list which is the only one to go by.
im 30 weeks pregnant and ate many festive sandwiches (which included cold bacon) over Christmas when I was 12-15weeks and zero issues at all! Please try not to worry.