Just ate smoked salmon and freaking out

[Babybear260]

I have done this to myself - and I just feel so awful. I know it’s on the lists of foods to avoid in the NHS but I was craving it very badly and at the time I made the decision that the benefits outweighed the risk (omega 3, good protein etc) so I had two slices of sourdough with soft cheese and smoked salmon… I’m 34 weeks and now I’m just completely freaked out because apparently listeria can cause meningitis in the baby! Immediately after I ate it I felt bad…. But then apparently salads like lettuce could also contain listeria but that’s not on the list of foods to avoid .

I hope it’ll be ok, I know the risk is still low and I suppose there’s risk with any food… I guess I’m looking to see if anyone else ate smoked salmon and their baby was just fine!

I have a one year old and a three year old, and the not eating smoked salmon is new guidance. I ate it (and sushi if it had been pre frozen) throughout both pregnancies. Listeria is rare, if you look up how many people get it in the UK, so sure you’ll be fine.
if you crave it next time, just have it heated up- eg a smoked salmon pasta.

Smoked salmon is fine. Don’t worry

I ate my bodyweight in sushi and very very rare meat the week before I found out I was nearly 3 months pregnant!
Baby was fine. Don't stress yourself out. It's hard I know! But honestly, you're fine.

It’s very very rare

and your body needed something

and yes is suspect I ate plenty of smoked salmon because it wasn’t on the avoid list

That is reassuring thank you. I had my GP appointment when I was 5 weeks pregnant and when I was on about all the foods the NHS said I shouldn’t / shouldn’t eat she did mention it changes all the time and that the only things I should be absolutely avoid in terms of food is blue cheese (because of the mild) and pate (because of vitamin A).

Is it not okay, if you just heat it through? Or is that only for sandwich meat?

I ate smoked salmon a couple of times while pregnant. I had pretty bad sickness and it was one of the only things I wanted. It was fine. I just made sure it was from a supermarket and a couple of days before its use by date.

Phew! I just really had a craving and I thought surely it’s more healthy than the small risk it carries. And yes I ate it straight after opening and well within use by :)

It's fine, the guidance is OTT, and also do you think women in Japan avoid raw fish?! I'd recommend Emily Oster's book Expecting Better, it reviews the actual research about pregnancy topics like foods.

I freaked out the same in my first pregnancy after eating camembert. Now I realise I was being hysterical. We worry about so much, but chances are you'll be perfectly fine.

You could heat the salmon and then let it cool if you want to have the same meal again but with less stress

Relax - listeria outbreaks are very very rare and publicly reported. Had a quick google and nothing popped up. Trick for you - if you crave the taste i used to cook smoked salmon with scrambled eggs and you still retain most the taste, the texture changes instead. Cooking thoroughly kills listeria.

I have been desperate for smoked salmon for a couple of months, honestly if I get smoothly to 34 weeks I might just treat myself. The description of your snack was amazing. Unless the salmon had been lying out and was out of its use by I wouldn't be worried. My aunt (a midwife but no longer practicing) was adamant I could have it. But also said I couldn't have honey. Which I can. Rules change! apparently anything from the deli (olives, meats, slaws, anything left sitting there) is a listeria risk. There has to be a line somewhere.

I think I’ll just avoid it entirely … there’s only 5 and a half weeks left to go I’m not sure what I was thinking. I get anxious anyway so I should’ve known that even tho the risk of small, my head would’ve overthought it. I just love the taste and texture of raw smoked salmon. It’s the same with tartare / terrine(which I haven’t eaten) … I love all of those definitely best to avoid for the sake of a few more weeks

OP please read 'expecting better' by Emily Oster. She goes into the detail of 'why' we are told not to eat certain things when we're pregnant.

Some things, like alcohol, coffee and raw meat can harm the baby.

Others, like hams, cheeses, smoked salmon and sushi, the only reason we are told not to eat them is because of the risk of food poisoning. Food poisoning would not harm your baby (as anyone who's had hyperemesis and popped out a 9lb baby after can tell you), it's just not nice to have food poisoning when you're pregnant.

And the risks of getting food poisoning from smoked salmon, or sushi, are not even any higher for pregnant women than anyone else. I assume you've never had food poisoning from smoked salmon? Me neither.

In other words, you're fine. I hope you enjoyed it 🐟

That’s what I thought too! I’m 34 weeks and thought it must be fine… I’m sure it is fine… I just googled after and immediately felt terrible but the statistics are super low. I was a regular smoked salmon eater before pregnancy

Thanks so much! Exactly this, I ate a tonne of smoked salmon, deli meats (not raw) before pregnancy and was completely fine. I think I read somewhere pregnancy compromises your immune system which might make us slightly more at risk but I’m not sure if there’s any evidence for that x

Don’t worry, those guidelines are very conservative, listeria is very unlikely.

One of the best hints I had in pregnancy was to keep a notebook with me. When I wanted forbidden food I wrote it down as an IOU to be cashed in whenever I fancied. It was great to be able to pull out my book on a random Wednesday with a toddler and cash in a glass of red wine with my favourite pate . . .

You'll be fine.

The banned list changes regularly. Peanuts were on it when I was having my babies but I craved them every day (the redskin or paleskin ones) and wild horses wouldn't have been able to stop me. I had no issues at all and none of my three DDs have any allergies to them.

Just because something is a risk factor doesn't mean it will definitely happen. In the vast majority of cases it remains extremely unlikely.

It is true that listeria can cause nasty infections in the baby, but it is incredibly rare. So rare I’ve never seen it, and I’ve been working in paediatrics over 25 years. The odds of a problem from what you ate today are incredibly low.

Many of these pregnancy risks are very low likelihood, they list them because plenty of people are risk averse and at least if there is a central list they have a choice of whether or not to eat particular food. If the list isn't comprehensive then there is a chance that people with health anxiety will get their information from tiktok or old wives tales and might end up with a nutritional deficiency so they include things that have an immensely low probability of causing a problem.

I have never had listeria from smoked salmon and I have never heard of any who has caught listeria from it. A quick Google tells me that about 5 or 6 times as many people are struck by lightning every year as get listeria from smoked fish. Don't worry about it unless you start feeling ill (which you won't), and if you do feel ill remember to tell the doctor that you had smoked salmon so that they can investigate it as a cause if necessary.

I love smoked salmon but went right off it in pregnancy - the smell of it made me feel sick. But if I hadn't had that I would have eaten it as normal (not often as it's expensive but if it were offered I would have).
You will be fine.

I had all sorts of panics like this when I was pregnant.

Smoked salmon from a reputable producer will have been UV treated before being vacuum packed and refrigerated. The risk of listeria is extremely low.

I don’t think I stopped eating smoked salmon in either of my pregnancies.