Foods in pregnancy

[Amby99]

I am careful about what I’m eating but as the pregnancy progresses, I can’t help but miss the foods I used to enjoy. Smoked salmon, Brie, Sauccison, steak tartare.

Ok, some of these foods I only ever ate at a restaurant so it wasn’t a daily occurrence but I’ve wondered am I allowed to have a ‘pink’ steak? I haven’t cooked any steak because I hate it well done so I think best to avoid entirely. And I guess the more I think about these foods the desire for them increases

As for Brie, I was told by my GP and midwife that as long as it’s pasteurised it’s fine. So I bought from Sainsbury’s but then read the back and it said ‘not suitable for expectant mothers’ so now I’ve back tracked.

then I did some googling and it said ‘cooked’ Brie was fine. How do you cook Brie? Do you just put it in the oven and wait for it to melt?

I know the listeria risk is small, and as far as I’m aware I’ve never caught it before so it’s not risking for the sake of the baby. But there does seem to be conflicting info out there and I had goats cheese last week in my salad thinking it was Ok because it was pasteurised (but I didn’t check the back label like I did with the Brie)

I really missed steak in my first pregnancy - I did a lot of research and it seemed that as long as it is seared well and not bloody then the risk is a lot lower - I had pink but not red steak in my pregnancy. With Brie, the way to cook it would be to have it similar to Camembert I would imagine - so long as it is cooked so it’s piping hot - so either in a dish or cooked very well and had in a sandwich/panini. The risk is low but I think it’s up to mothers to make informed decisions. I stayed fully away from smoked salmon and cured meats (unless cooked)

I'd eat a medium steak, no rarer than that though. Not a fan of soft cheese so that isn't posing a problem!
A massive Sushi platter will be a postpartum treat for sure.

I'd wrap the brie in foil with some garlic, herbs and maybe a chutney and bake it in the oven until gooey. Eat with some toasted sourdough (that sounds so good right now!)

I understand what you mean, I miss blue cheese but I'm staying away from it. A big cheese platter and a glass of French red will be waiting at home for me post-partum.

It does sound good. I don’t think I’m going to risk it though :(

thankfully I can’t stand blue cheese but I’m with you on that - a French Salami and cheese platter with a glass of vino will be my first meal request PP :)

You need iron PP from the rare steak, DHA for the baby from the sushi, calcium from the cheese and cold bite sized pieces to eat over the baby like sushi and charcuterie ;) I missed it! The indigestion stopped within 2h of birth

So I actually live in france, the only thing I've been told to "be careful" with is washing fruit and veg and not eating raw meat (having it piping hot throughout)
We do have blood tests every month to check our toxoplasmosis state which I never in England had
I eat brie, goats cheese, soft cheese like it's going out of fashion (not blue because yuk), I also have sushi (from a place I trust and have never had problems with), and also eat smoked salmon and smoked trout. I never wash my veg or fruit unless visibly soiled even pre pregnant
All my tests come back normal. (I was also pretty loose with the guidelines in my other pregnancies in the uk because they are only guidelines not strict rules)
The steak front I don't eat, but can sympathise with.
The only things I won't go near is pre packed salad, prepacked sushi, prepacked sandwhiches, but I'm also very iffy with those things non pregnant.
I think if you want a nice medium rare steak, grab a thermometer out and have one!
I know a lot of ladies would be like "why risk it" but realistically, I don't feel like you are if you look into other cultures and their eating recommendations/habits and you're being smart with how and where you eat.

It’s not that long to go without. Look online about how to cook the Brie or get Camembert which is easy to cook.

Is salami like Parma ham in that if you freeze it first, it’s safe to consume? I ate a lot of prosciutto when I was pregnant using that technique.

Thank you so much - that’s really insightful and I was talking to my FIL the other day and he said exactly the same thing regarding women in France probably eating cheese etc

when I was in America recently, my aunt had goats cheese and everyone said it was fine because it was pasteurised (including a relative that’s a doctor) so as you say I think it is just guidelines rather than rules…. But like another person said it is only another 6 months and then I can eat all of the cured meats, cheese I want!

Part of me also wants to eat these great foods because I know the baby can taste and I reallyyyyyy want them to have a sophisticated pallet although I’m not sure if there’s any scientific evidence to suggests that’s influenced by what the mother eats in pregnancy.

Oh god! I’ve had prosciutto this pregnancy and didn’t freeze it beforehand. I ate prosciutto quite often before pregnancy

It’s any cured meat or fish, unpasteurised cheese and cheese with a mouldy rind that you aren’t supposed to have. So you can’t have Brie, Camembert or rinded goats cheese even if it is pasteurised, but the soft non rinded goats cheese is ok.

I just found out that freezing cured ham for three days kills the parasites so I was straight to the deli for their most expensive Jamon!

I can confirm it's not 😅 one very picky textural issue eater, and one regular eater later. My advice would be to start them on whatever you're eating /mixed foods as young as you can instead of seperate and individually, and sometimes even that it comes down to the child

I wouldn’t worry too much as I think most of these foods are pretty low risk in the UK if from a reputable source and stored properly. Listeria and toxoplasmosis are fairly rare in the UK. Fish used for sushi in the UK has always been frozen which should have killed any parasites. A lot of meat from the supermarket has been frozen too.

I have eaten smoked salmon, goats cheese and pasteurised Brie this time round and would eat medium rare steak. I would be more careful if travelling to countries with lower food standards.