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 ...

In terms of caffiene it has never even been mentioned to me - at my booking in appointment the pregnant midwife was supping a cup of tea!

I always drink decaf coffee anyway, (not smug, it just doesn't agree with me). I still have cups of tea however. I think with caffiene it's just about moderation isn't it?

mersmam I'm afraid I don't know why the risk from bagged salads is so high, just that they all seem mega paranoid about it.

Caffiene - doesn't chocolate have caffiene in it? I am NOT giving up that!

Listeria is the one thing I really worried about, though I avoided wine and caffine in teh first trimester, mostly because I didn't want them - no self control required.

Listeria info from the Health Protection Agency (very reliable source):

Listeria is an unusual bacterium because it can grow at low temperatures, including refrigeration temperatures of below 5°C. It is, however, killed by cooking food thoroughly and by pasteurisation. Foods most likely to be contaminated with listeria are unpasteurised cheeses, cold cuts of meat, pâtés and smoked fish, or ready meals which have been pre-cooked and then chilled for some time before consumption.

Zoejeanne - chocolate only has a tiny bit of caffeine in it so you should be OK (unless you're eating 50 bars of dairy milk a day that is )
I think some studies have shown that a lot of caffeine does increase the risk of miscarriage, but personally I do not think there is a problem with drinking a few cups of coffee a day.
I agree that listeria is probably the biggest worry. I've read that the risk of catching it for the average pregnant woman is 1 in 30,000 - and that is without avoiding the stuff mentioned by CaptainKarvol above. So I think if you avoid pate etc... the risk is perhaps about the same as being hit by a runaway bus when you cross the road (and how many of us are going to avoid doing that cos we're pregnant?!)
That said, I am a bit concerned about the risk of listeria from bagged salad. Does anyone know how to wash it effectively? I really don't imagine that just rinsing it under the cold tap does much good...

Ready meals??

This is a good article on listeria: www.medic8.com/healthguide/articles/listeria.html

Woo hoo just seen this post has made Discussion of the Day!

MRSFOSSIL pasturised brie etc is NOT ok. The risk of listeria infection occurs after the pasturisation process, during the cheese making process, and pasturised milk is actually more vaulnerable at this point than raw milk.

Zoejeanne, Somone earlier opinted out that listeria originates in the soil, so your husband is surely just as at risk eating veg straight from the field as out of a bag?

Surely its more of a risk to eat no fruit and veg than to eat a bagged salad.

Is it really a bad thing if a pregnant woman eats a carefully chosen convience meal or a take way if she is too tired to cook? Surely its better than her missing a meal?

There is what you would eat an in an ideal world and what is achievable.

I thought it was just that bagged salads say they are washed so people don't wash them at home. When actually they are not very thoroughly washed and do still need to be done again?

Convenience meals are only a risk if they are not heated thoroughly - just check they're hot in the middle and it's fine! I THINK (but am not sure) that the moisture in the bag with salads may make a good breeding ground for listeria so that may be why they are a risk (??)

oh my god. my head is going to explode. i think we should all chill out and just be sensible. the human body is pretty amazing and we have been getting pregnant and having healthy babes for many yrs.

if your not sure about something just be safe and go with your gut feeling.

i never trust a salad bag pregnant or not!!

I agree - there are fewer that 150 cases of Listeria in the UK each year and of those only around 16% are pregnant women. here Two recent outbreaks were traced back to butter and pre-packed sandwiches.

So the risk is tiny and if you get this paranoid then you'll spend 9 months being totally stressed out, which will probably do far more harm to you and your unborn child!

Eat Brie, drink a little wine, and for God's sake enjoy it!

does anyone know if crab pate is banned? i know meat pates are but not sure about crab - have avoided it so far but would love some for lunch on french bread!!

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Its one goats cheese with the rind on i think, i have been told the other stuff is fine because its been pasturised.

I hope it is anyway, i have been eating loads of it, infact i fancy some for my lunch !

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No the rind is the mould ripened stuff and thats not ok

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Christiana - you won't have done any harm. I had lots of goats cheese during my second pregnancy (with and without rind!) and now have a healthy three year old - she's actually the healthiest of my three children so maybe it does some good :-)

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The rindon goats cheese is pretty grim anyway if i remember correctly, you probably feel rotton cos its gross ;)

Get the soft stuff, its yummy !

Sure baby will be fine

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It will end

I just buy the tesco own soft stuff its in a little pot the tesco finest one is nice too but i prefer the cheap one its only £1.18 or something.

I need to go to tesco...