How strict are you?

[VioletRain]

How strict are you with what you do and do not eat? I have friends who are annoyingly paranoid about every morsel which passes their lips, and others who have gone through their pregnancy not even realising that they weren't meant to eat peanuts etc.

Do you ask every cafe whether their mayo has unpasteurised egg in it? Do you strictly limit yourself to 2 portions of tuna per week? What about meats - do you eat sausage rolls, cold crispy bacon?

I'm interested to know what people's attitudes are ...

I have to say I am much more laid back this time round. Partly because I have been so sick that if I can manage something I eat it whether it is recommended or not. Having said that I am more careful with the soft cheese, deli food than with say peanuts. So I have eaten peanut butter and cottage cheese but not blue vein cheese, etc. I don't eat meat anyway so not an issue for me in regards to that. I don't bother asking in cafes etc but tend to steer clear of custard or salads that may have been sitting in their dressings for a while if that makes sense.

I agree with you (and it's my first) ... it's difficult enough trying to stay off the alcohol, caffeine etc ... I think a little bit of what you fancy does you good (and women have been having children for years before we had all this medical advice). I try to be sensible and don't touch soft cheeses, pate, shellfish etc ... but don't worry about eating too many portions of tuna per week. It's better for baby that I am relaxed and happy I think, and eat a variety of different, heatlthy foods.

Do you think unwashed salad is a big risk? I am going on holiday next week and I am not sure how to get my vits if I stay away from their salad bar?

Totally agree with you Violet, I had my first baba 9 weeks ago, I was relatively relaxed during the pg, being sensible (avoiding blue cheese but not being totally ott about it)but having small amounts of peanut butter, the very odd glass of wine and fish etc (went to Thailand when I was 20 wks and was not going to avoid the gorgeous seafood), anyway I had a beeyootiful 9lb 4, very relaxed and happy boy...maybe i am totally wrong but I'm sure being relaxed has helped my LO. Our mothers knew nothing about the 'no-no's' and lots of women who have no idea for ages that they are pg seem to produce happy, healthy children.

This is my 1st pregnancy (17wk) I have read the guidelines and stay away from most of what i should do, but a little bit of what you fancy does you good. I do like peanuts but husbands cousin has a severe nut allergy so i have tried my best not to eat them but the odd one has passed my lips! Ive not touched alcohol and dont really fancy it and i also went off tea and coffee so caffiene in take is down too.
When ever i speak to my mum or gran about 'what not to eat/do?' they say oh thats silly they never had that in my day!!!!!

Im 38 weeks with my first, coffee makes me sick so that was easy to avoid but still drink tea and the only drink i could stomach with morning sickness was ice cold diet coke!!
havent eaten mould ripened cheeses, pate or shellfish but i'd eat the meats you described as well as some cured meats!
Ive avoided nuts as i have hayfever and excema so bigger allergy risk and i havent drunk alcohol. To be honest, i dont think there is anything wrong in eating any of the things that i forbade myself, just the kind of person i am i know that if the baby had anything even slightly wrong i'd torture myself wondering if it was the peanuts i ate or the stilton cheese! neurotic probably

I just try to be sensible about it. Am pg with DC3 so maybe more relaxed that others on DC1 but anyway I am eating peanuts (no allergy in family and apparently a low level of intake can be beneficial in preventing an allergy - or so I've read!) - anyway I ate snickers bars with both previous DD's and they are fine.
I am avoiding prawns and other shellfish type things because of a (possibly irrational?) fear of mercury, and blue cheese but other than that I've eaten some cooked goats cheese (on a quiche) as I reckon if it's bubbling hot in a scorching oven not many bugs are going to survive that!
Wouldn't eat pate though. Not worried about salad etc.
I try to limit my tea and coffee to total of 3-4 cups per day but am not stringent about it.
I think you just have to be sensible and do your best to eat a healthy balanced diet. As other people have said loads of women don't know they are pregnant for months (my friend was 20 wks when she found out) - and have no ill effects on their babies what so ever. Problems caused by listeria etc are so, so rare.
Best of luck to all the pg ladies out there x

Im 26weeks pregnant with my 1st and I am very laid back about what I should & shouldnt eat. I have the odd glass of wine & soda. I have 1 cup of coffee a day. I wont eat pate or too much fish/seafood. I have eaten prawns and tuna, but not more than a couple of times since being pregnant.

When my mum was pregnant with me, she was told to eat liver twice a week!!...
I came out alright

So far, in this pregnancy, I have eaten

nuts
soft cheese
smoked salmon
cured meat
prawns
bacon
Sausage rolls
tuna

The only thing I'm steering clear of is liver, as that is known to have too-high levels of Vit A.

The other things, that maybe possibly might give me listeria/salmonella I'm just not that concerned about.

My neighbour, who has just had her 2nd baby is a nurtitionalist, and I asked her what she does/doesn't eat, and she said that salads/sandwich fillings etc from a slightly dodgy looking sandwich shop are best avoided (always!), but buying prawns from M&S and having a couple rashers of bacon are really not going to do you any harm.

I don't know about you, but I have never met, or even heard of anyone with salmonella or listeria

I haven't stopped eating anything.
I used to work in the food industry though and take alot of it as scare mongering.
The only thing to be careful of is listeria as if you do get it it can cause miscarriage, not just general food poisoning. Listeria is associated with mould ripened cheeses and often salads, unwashed veg. Having said that, I still eat brie if I fancy it and eat salad.
I think you have to use your common sense. Food poisoning is not that common, reputable food manufacturers in this country work to very high standards.

Whats wrong with prawns? My midwfie told me that as long as they hadn't been sat in a sandwich on a shelf for hours they are fine.

I have never understood the prawn thing either. If you eat dodgy prawns you will probably get an upset tummy that's all.

I had king prawns in garlic butter and chilli last night...YUM!

No need to 'steer clear' of liver - just have it occasionally if you like it. The only reason mums were put off it was that years ago they were encouraged to eat it so some had it practically every day, which led to the excessive levels of vit A.

So prawns are ok then? I thought they had high levels of dodginess in them (sorry, made-up word) - like Mercury or other chemicals from when they scavenge for food ????
When several of my friends were pg they were told by their midwives on no account to eat any prawns.
As someone else said, probably scaremongering!
And what is wrong with BACON? Have just had a bacon sandwich........am sure that's ok?
And have also eaten masses of smoked salmon this pg already - had a bit of a craving for it a couple of wks ago. I thought the smoking process killed off any nasties?

Really fancy some king prawns in garlic butter for dinner now........

hahaha, this thread is brilliant. What's wrong with bacon??!

Honestly, I think it's all blown out of proportion. Apart from that government website that has a small list of things they reccommend you avoid, there isnt anywhere that reliably tells you what you should or shouldnt have, they all say different things!

First time I've heard bacon or sausage rolls is dodgy is today...

Am 21 wks and so far have eaten:

Peanut butter, lots of (no allergies in our families)
Bacon
Brie, once at 14 wks - it said it was pasturised so I thought the risk must be tiny
Smoked salmon
Sausage rolls
Crayfish, prawns, lots of fish in fact
Mayonnaise without any knowledge of past. eggs
Cold deli meats like chorizo
Stilton - although I melted it

Not had alcohol though but can see a glass or two would be ok. And wouldn't eat pate or liver anyway. Have limited tuna and avoid fish like shark but it does say that on the govt website.

I think a lot of women like all that "excuse me, but does your mayonnaise have pasturised egg in it?" stuff because it makes you feel a bit special - "...I'm pregnant you see...."

I mainly think this because when I was 12 weeks I took almost an hour to decide what to eat in a sushi restaurant, much to everyone's annoyance, but then realised that I was doing it a little bit on purpose

Also, people always want what they cant have - nibble some stilton and then realise it wasnt as good as you remembered and you wont bother for the rest of your pregnancy.

What's with the peanut thing? i didn't know about that? Is that to stop allergies? As DP is totally addicted to peanut butter, I have a sneaky feeling that I'll be craving the stuff when it's my turn!

I'm 20 weeks and have just carried on as normal.

I dont eat mould ripened cheese, pate or liver anyway and everything else i have had as as when.. in moderation.

I was a lot stricter with DD.

What on earth is wrong with Sausage Rolls

there's nothing wrong with bacon! that's just bizarre!

Smoked salmon is fine, it has been smoked, so effectively 'cooked' IFSWIM.

I think the only foods which you should be careful of with regards to mercury are things like swordfish and shark and to a lesser extent tuna.
personally i don't eat alot of swordfish or shark on the whole

I was very strict about certain things such as the raw egg, seafood, pate and soft cheese JUST IN CASE and despite knowing a lot about Listeria etc. cos listeriosis in pregnancy is dangerous to the foetus.

I don't eat peanuts anyway but didn't stop eating other nuts, especially almonds and brazils (good source of selenium).

was not that good with the wine thing after 4months either, cos got married at 17 weeks and then went on honeymoon to Belgium/France and then my mother was diagnosed as terminal and died 9 days later so really having one glass of wine was more preferable to the stress.

sausage rolls???? now thats just silly!!!!!

Prawns are excellent, v. low mercury levels/high protein.

I'm sensible, I'm far more worried about food hygiene than excluding food groups - I don't eat pre-prepared food (sandwiches/salad etc) or anything that is likely to have been sat around for hours at room temperature. I don't avoid nuts for example.

This is my 5th pregnancy & tbh I've become for careful with each one - but unexplained second trimester losses will do that to you. I've been given some terrible dietary advice/food hygiene advice by midwives over the years, very few of them seem to understand the advice they are giving or even know the reasons behind it - one particularly clueless one seemed to have no knowledge about listeria but was convinced I should avoid honey.

Joyfuleyes, know exactly what you mean.

I had a 9 wk scan and was told to avoid seafood. I'd just eaten a crayfish sandwich from a deli while waiting for some results and so she backtracked massively and said actually that was probably ok.

Then she said dont eat peanuts and I said I'd had it on toast in the morning and she said, "well dont eat them very often" - surely you either eat them or avoid them??