Foods to avoid - how strictly do you / did you stick to the guidelines?

[floraflora]

V. early days of pregnancy no.2. Last time I stuck rigidly to the guidelines of what foods to avoid, in a bit of a swotty, good-girl kind of way. This time I feel a little more rebellious. Until I did a test I was swigging sweet sherry left over from Christmas and devouring blue cheese.
The French and Italians don't seem to worry too much, are we just a nation of girl swots who like to obey rules?

i think so!!

they are guidelines only imo. and the powers that be seem to change their advice every few months. i honestly think that as long as you dont eat any particular thing in excess, and you are careful about what you are eating ( washing things, care with cooking or possibly contaminated foods) then a little of what you fancy wont do you any harm.

i was the same with my first pregnancy. so careful and followed all advice to the letter. this time i have been much more relaxed and had the odd glass of wine, pate on toast, rare steak.

my grandad used to say - moderation in all things!

Will be interested to see the responses, I was also a very good girl in my first - in France, they eat all the cheeses (and other things, like bloody steaks - yum) but recommend you move your cat out for the duration of the pregnancy!! Mine got to stay last time, so probably next time, but am certainly wondering about all the foods (can't even remember all of the no-no's!)

i didn't really follow the guidance

I ate rare steak, blue cheese, glass of wine etc but i felt comfortable doing it

and that is the advice i give - if you feel ok and won't get an attack of the guilts then do it

Glad to hear my sentiments echoed!
Going out for posh lunch next week for partner's birthday, and as its a set lunch the choice is bound to be limited and bound to include lots of those supposedly off-limits foods.

Made dh take me a restaurant just for the deep fried Camembert starter. Camembert is mostly pasteurised these days anyway so not sure there is much risk uncooked. Adore blue veined cheese as well, but only allowed myself to inhale it, not eat it. But am aware in other parts of the world there are no such restrictions.

but in france you have monthly blood tests for toxo... and get treated if found to be positive. not so here.

listeria (blue cheese etc) is rare. toxo is not

its not worth the risk IMO. you are more likely to catch these things when you are pregnant, because of your suppressed immune system, and both illnesses do horrible things to babies. a friends baby died at 37 weeks from toxo, and at work, i have seen several babies disabled from it.

so yes, i follow the guidelines

I am veggie, so a few things don't apply to me, but I have been eating blue cheese/camembert/etc occassionally. And had a few drinks. Very moderately of course, but the guidelines are ott imo.

I'm not eating liver or raw shellfish but I don't eat them usually

Basically I'm eating exactly as I usually would when not pg

Tell me about dippy eggs... I knew that the white bit of a fried or boiled eggs had to be solid from when I worked in a cafe but didn't know until my very shocked midwife told me off for eating eggs with the yolk still dippy that that wasn't allowed.

Really - are dippy eggs with solid whites toxic?

Toxo what?

sorry, toxoplasmosis - a parasite that can be in raw steak, undercooked or cured meat, pate etc unwashed veg/salad, cat litter

more info here

I know that one! Toxoplasmosis is a parasite that can be found in cat poop. It isn't toxic to adults but it can cause a problem to an unborn child so the recommendations are that pregnant women don't handle dirty cat litter trays n the suchlike... The odds of catching it are low, and once you have had it you can't catch it again, so I have heard it suggested that adults with cats who clean the trays anyway are likely to have caught it in the past without knowing it anyway... But wear gloves if you're pregnant and cleaning the cat tray out...

dippy eggs aren't a problem - if you buy eggs with the british lion stamp they are guaranteed salmonella free.

also in food muddychipmunk
odds of catching quit high - by time you get to 60 more people will have had it than not. but only a problem if pregnant (or immunosuppressed in another way eg HIV, chhemotherapy)

If you are pregnant and get toxoplasmosis do you know? Are you ill yourself?

I have two cats (have had them for 2 years) since found out I was pregnant my DH has changed litter tray. Although I have done it twice when it was a bit too stinky to leave - I wore gloves and washed hands afterwards.

eggs should be cooked through

I must confess, I haven't been as careful as the advice says I should be about runny egg-yolks etc....

No problems, though.

Basically, there are possible risks with these things, aren't there? I guess I've taken the risk a few times and got away with it - but how would I feel if I did get listeria and it damaged my baby in some way? I suppose that's the question you have to ask yourself...

And yes, the goalposts do seem to get moved an awful lot when it comes to advice on what to consume, do/not do during pregnancy....

Yes, have avoided pate which is high in liver content anyway, I think? Was rather ill after eating some a few years back and wondered if that was listeria.

It's soft and blue cheeses I miss.

And is prepackaged salad safe if washed and then you wash it yourself?

I really stuck to all the guidelines with my first and have with this pregnancy too - its about what you feel comfortable doing - i'm a worrier so if something went wrong i know i would automatically blame myself and for me it wouldn't be worth it. I miss pate and wine sooo much but there will be plenty of time to enjoy it when baby arrives!

My midwife told me that it was safe to drink up to 20 units a week and meat didn't necessarily have to be well done. Apparently the temperature that's important more than the colour. Should be 145 farenheit for eggs, fish, beef and lamb, 160 for everything else.

Two interesting my consultant told me to read were www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/FetalAlcoholSyndrome.html and www.bupa.co.uk/health_information/html/healthy_living/lifestyle/alcohol/pregnancy.html

I didn't set out expecting to follow all the rules, but actually I have. When push has come to shove, however small the risk is, there isn't really any food stuff that I have been totally desperate for, in a way that I could live with myself if I was one of the tiny minority who was affected.

I love oysters and sashimi, brie, very rare steak etc, but it's not that long to go without.

Luckily I didn't drink anyway so that's been no problem.

I"d never judge anyone who did ignore the guidelines, but personally I could never live with myself if my baby had a complication that could be tied back to something I had specifically done, that I could have avoided.

Up to 20 units a week?! That's more than the guidelines if you're not pregnant! Is that a typo?

I haven't followed the guidelines at all. I have continued to eat what I like, when I like and have eaten foods like liver in small amounts.
I have eaten soft and blue cheeses, pate, drunk alcohol and continued eating rare meat. The only thing I have given up is caffeinated coffee.

I stuck rigidly to guidelines in my first pregnancy, however, there weren't as many 'banned' foods then... Have been more relaxed with my subsequent two and current pregancies, and trying to be sensible. I have cut down on tea and can't drink coffee anyway as it makes me sick. Have also cut my 2L plus a day diet coke habit..

I am not doing the cat litter trays myself (hate it anyway, so a good excuse) but have had a rare steak and some parma ham. I would probably have a small amount of pate or soft cheese if I fancied it. The risk is small and I have probably had toxoplasmosis anyway.

I am being rigourous about washing my hands after handling my snakes (pets) as the risk of salmoella is moderate. I have eaten runny (lion stampd) eggs though.