Things you cannot do when you are pregannt

[grommit]

I am having difficulty remembering the list of things not to do when you are pregnant so thought I'd ask the experts. Food - soft cheese, shellfish, liver, pate, uncooked eggs. I also remember something about not wearing underwire bras, not visiting birthing sheep, not using electric blanket, not spraying garden pesticides, not gardening without gloves....Anything else??

It is my understanding that pregnant women, the elderly and small children are not more susceptible to salmonella, rather that the consequences of it can be more severe.

How common is toxoplasmosis in the UK? I am still obsessing about a piece of rare lamb I ate when I was about 4 weeks pregnant. It's all the worse because I hate underdone lamb but it was a big work meal at a Conran Restaurant and at the time didn't feel able to send it back.

Bells, hope this link will put your mind at rest. He may be a "media doctor" but I do find Danny Tucker's factsheets seem to be the only ones which attempt to quantify risks in pregnancy in a fairly clear way.
Women's Health Factsheet on Toxoplasmosis in Pregnancy
It seems to me from this that you are more likely to be immune to TP if you have ever lived, or regularly eaten meat, in countries other than the UK, where the parasite which causes it is comparatively rare. And I certainly was not aware that this is another risk factor that gets more potentially serious the further along you are, rather than being a mainly first trimester thing. HTH.

Thanks a lot Marina - as you say, finally an article which quantifies the risk. As a frequent traveller to France and an even more frequent consumer of rare steak frites, it is very reassuring indeed.

I've revived this thread as I have a couple of questions on what things you can eat and not eat whilst pregnant.

Is it safe to eat a steak cooked medium when pregnant?

I don't know if I'm pregnant yet but we are in the process of trying, going out for a big family meal soon and wondered about the steak as the restaurant does really nice steaks and I usually have one but if I'm pregnant by then will I be able to eat it if it's cooked medium?

also is it safe to eat black pudding when you're pregnant? Just out of interest

Linnet ... I think medium steak is ok ... It is rare that you need to watch out for ....
If you are worried could you pick something else from the menu?

hi everyone

just doing some checking on what's verboten for the next 8m. having read this i'm a bit confused about parmesan cheese - is it ok because it's hard or banned because it's not pasteurised? bought a huge chunk last week...

tia.

of course i can't remember what i did last time, lol!

I'm pretty sure it's ok because it's hard; unless I've had total brain fade (quite possible) even pasturised bries etc were banned because they were soft when I was pg 4 years ago.

Unfair to ask but having had my share of a bottle of red tonight I will anyway, are you dealing ok with other pregnancy no-no's ? Hope so, but if not you wouldn't be the only one to have the odd lapse in the first few weeks while still getting used to the idea of being pg.

twink, i'm sure you're referring to booze and fags! what must you think of me?!

well, like last time, i miss my wine in the evenings a lot, but it is do-able, especially as my policy is to allow myself one glass wine per week from 12/13 weeks on - so i can console myself with the thought that in a few weeks i can at least have a glass of wine.

also, like last time, it is quitting cigarettes overnight that is the killer, but i am managing thanks. IT IS VERY HARD!!! but there isn't really an option is there?

thanks for asking!

ps - you don't sound 100% sure on the parmesan front, if you don't mind my saying...

The parmesan I bought recently was pasturised. Brie is, I believe, safe provided it's pasturised and you don't eat the rind.

I think generally speaking, pasturised is good, non-pasturised is a no-no. Having said that, I ate unpasturised Canadian cheddar 7 months into my 2nd pregnancy as I hadn't noticed it was un pasturised

You can't go on The Big One at blackpool.......

meiow - I really want to say something rude, but its too early in the day

Hard cheese is fine, pasteurised or not. Listeria needs moisture to survive, hence its love of soft cheese. It can't survive in had cheese. I've researched this quite thoroughly and this is the scientific truth! I wouldn't eat brie or camembert but then I don't like it anyway. All cheese if fine if cooked until piping hot, which is how I got my goat's cheese fix when pg.

Bk, just wanted to commiserate on the giving up smoking overnight thing, it is hard isn't it? It does get easier though. And I've been drinking more than 1 glass a week since 12 weeks - most nights I don't drink and then about 2/3 times a week I've been having a small glass of wine or sometimes one and a half (with food). I've been buying nicer wine though, figuring that if I can only have a glass I'll go for quality over quantity.

This is from the Food Standards Agency website

Why do soft cheeses such as Camembert carry a risk of Listeria?

The cooking temperatures of the curd used in the manufacture of soft cheeses is lower than that of hard cheeses and may not be sufficient to destroy Listeria which may have been present in milk used in manufacture.
As soft cheeses are also less acidic and contain more moisture than hard cheeses they are more inclined to allow the growth of such undesirable bacteria.
The crust of soft cheeses such as Camembert carries an increased risk of Listeria as, due to a decrease in the acidity level at the surface during ripening, the bacterium grows predominantly on the surface of the cheese and not in the core of the cheese.

And this:

Are hard cheeses made from unpasteurised milk such as Parmesan and Gruyere safe in pregnancy?

The scientific literature has shown that Listeria is present in very low numbers (less than 1 bacterium per gram of cheese) in these types of cheeses and they are therefore not considered a risk to health during pregnancy.

aloha, thanks for that. i really need to start looking things up on the net or i will be here with questions every 5 mins!

www, yes it is a bummer! thank goodness i don't feel hormonal yet or i'd be as scratchy as a bag of cats!

Linnet - sorry it's a bit late, but I was told if you're neg. for toxoplasmosis then you need to avoid any bloody meat, so if your medium steak still has bloody juices it's not ok. I avoid red meats in restaurants now, just in case.

I'm finding the booze thing REALLY difficult now. I abstained completely for 1st trimester, but then thought I'd have the occasional one or 2, but this is really difficult... Now gonna have to abstain completely again. I'm an all or nothing kinda person.

Also for the person who asked further down, I was also told unpast. cheeses that were cooked were OK, because the listeria is killed during cooking.

monkey - I was told by two different med professionals that medium steak is fine (rare steak is not), but that I should make sure my cat is wormed.

Pie, you're dirrrrrrrrrtttttttyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!! LOL

Toxoplasma is not a worm and can not be killed by worming your cat. Yes you should worm your cat but that will kill toxocara not toxoplasma.

I can't paint my toenails

Isn't the whole point of this 'avoidance' thing because you could risk the health of your baby IF you get listeria/tocoplasmosis etc?
Someone way down the thread said they couldn't see the point of giving up all these things as their doctor had said the chances of you getting these things while pregnant are no more than getting them while not pregnant. I think that doctor was giving bad advice. Yes you are no more likely to get salmonella etc while pregnant BUT if you do it could HARM your baby.
That is why I avoid things ... I don't care if I get salmonella, listeria, toxo whatsit ... but I do care that my baby could be harmed IF I should get any of those things .... I couldn't live with myself.
There was a story here in NZ recently about a woman who ate a ready made prepacked chicken salad sandwich at a motorway service station and she got listeria. Her baby (she was 15 weeks pregnant) died as a direct result of it. Now, she would have got listeria anyway ... from that sandwich, but because she was pregnant her baby died.
That is why I avoid these things. In the same way I was able to give up smoking straight away with DS and with this pregnancy with no problems AT ALL. Yes, I know the risks that smoking has on MY body but it is MY body ... when I am pregnant it ISN'T just MY body ... it is someones else's who doesn't have a choice in what I put in my body!! My mother smoked through all over her 4 pregnancies in the 60s and we were very healthy children ... but she didn't know the risks then ... we do now!
Didn't mean this to be a rant .... it isn't really ... just saying how I see it from my point of view!
FWIW ... in NZ we can eat soft cheese as it is ALL pasteurised (all manufactured in NZ!) and alcohol is a no no throughout the whole pregnancy (they say that even one glass of wine can cause Fetal Alcohol Syndrome).