Eaten something I shouldn't, should I be getting tests?

[nunnie]

I have eaten 2 soft ice creams one very early on in pregnancy and one last week on holiday. Both from beach huts.

Should I get tested to see if I have done any harm to the baby?
Or should I stop worrying and avoid them from now on?

I hate this, I tried for 4.5 years to get pregnant with DD, and did everything by the book, this time took me 2.5 years and then go and have soft ice cream without even thinking about it being a risk, I haven't really looked at guidelines this time, as most of them stuck in my head from when I had DD, but this one hasn't for some reason

"Now, I knew the risk was minimal - but my anxiety was very high, due to miscarriages - so hospital did simple blood test - can't remember what it was called . Results came back fine - and I resumed pregnancy without this extra anxiety." I understand were you come from but do you think that being bombarded with a couple new advice aver year of things you really should not do do help?

I do believe that stress and anxiety are also bad factors in pregnancy and the tonne of advice making mums to be feel guitly and worried all the time is without a doubt a big factor of worry for a lot of people. It makes a time in our lives that should be the most enjoyable of all become a chore with a constant " not do do list".

WOW, I did not realise until today how strongly I felt on the subject!

Wow - skihorse - harsh!

This very thread shows that knowledge about what's contraband and why is extremely sketchy - every has a different opinion on why soft ice cream should be avoided, so it's no wonder people worry, often needlessly...

• In order to stay soft, soft ice-creams are kept at a temperature that can allow listeria to breed

• Listeria is more likely to affect pregnant women than non-pregnant women

• Unlike other types of food poisoning (which just affect the mother), listeria can cross the placenta and get into the baby's system

• Listeria can be fatal to the fetus

• Listeria can be symptomless

• The chances of catching listeria are very, very, very miniscule.

Nunnie - I'm not sure how far along you are and if you're feeling movements yet, but the chances are so much in your favour that everything is absolutely fine. If you're continuing to feel movements (assuming you're far enough along to feel them in the 1st place), then that's all the reassurance you need.

I have eaten lots of soft ice cream- it was one of my cravings. (In my defence, I did not actually know it was a 'no no' until quite recently.

As others have said.. the guidelines create so much stress and anxiety. When I first got them all i could not BELIEVE what was on the list.... in the end I have pretty much ignored them, except for liver, cheese with mould and I have been most careful with alcohol. I accidentally had stilton (cooked) in a quiche which created such a panic for me that I was quite hysterical. No advice... just wanted to add my voice to the about the massive overload of 'instructions' women get. The pressure is really unbearable.

Plus, everyone else monitors you too..... I have had people tell me off for eating smoked salmon in a bagel, people tell me off for eating hard cheese, people tell me off for sniffing (that is right, sniffing) DH;s whiskey and soda.... not drinking, sniffing. (Alcohol can be absorbed thru the nose membranes apparently... yeah right).

OP, please do not worry too much, and enjoy your day and your pregnancy. (Oh, and congratulations!).

Thank you 5dollarshake. I am 23 weeks, and movements have continued as normal, I know there is a blood test for listeria, and that it can take anything from 1-90 days to get symptoms from what I have read.
I have however read that it is very very rare. I have an appointment with midwife at 25 weeks, will mention it to her and she if she advices the blood test. I am not overally worried now, as I haven't had any ill feeling's and baby seems fine.

Thank you anyabanya.

I am glad you are feeling happier nunnie, I would agree with all the others that the chances of there being a problem with listeria are very rare, and your baby seems fine to you. Try to push it to the back of your mind (the question/worry that is, not the baby!)

As for comments about the questions that some people post. I would say if someone posts a question, no matter how silly or obvious the answer may be to someone else (and I hasten to add the listeria question alone makes this not an obvious answer), the poster has done so because they are worried, or need reassurance, support or someone to talk to about it perhaps because they have no-one in rl to share it with. That alone validates their question. If a mnetter doesn't think it is a "good" question then there is nothing that says you have to read it, or reply, or follow the thread. But I would have thought that good manners alone should mean that the poster is treated with respect. I'll get off my soap box now...sorry

Mocking and derisive comments don't help.

The advice about what pregnant women shouldn't eat/drink, and why, is a confusing mess. Especially when you consider that (for a universal healthcare system like the NHS), it has to be advice that everyone has a good chance of understanding and following, regardless of how well educated or knowledgeable they are to start with. Add to that the shocking misreporting and hysteria that the media regularly churns out re: risk and pregnancy, and it's no wonder so many women are left confused and anxious.

I've come to really dislike the over-cautious and unrealistically risk averse attitude that underlies so much advice for pregnant women. However, I'm equally frustrated by the weirdly macho attitude of those who seem to judge pregnant women by how much 'risky' food and drink they will consume. Pregnancy is NOT a competition, and there's nothing wrong with asking for advice.

I do think it's worth putting these risks into perspective though - I'm sure that by far the most dangerous thing we do during pregnancy is get in a car, and there is no suggestion we should avoid that!

Avoiding/limiting foods known to be harmful (alcohol, liver) and being careful about food hygiene and cooking methods is fine - but I don't want these things to take over my life.

A sensible, clear and well informed public discussion about 'risk' is exactly what we don't have, though.

I'm a huge fan of common sense. But one person's common sense is another person's caution/recklessness. 'Common sense' regarding alcohol on MN seems to veer from total abstinence to some defiantly high levels of intake. In practice, it pretty much means whatever people want it to, and decisions are based on anecdotal evidence like 'my mum drank every day when she was pregnant with me and I'm fine' etc etc, not on guidelines. Which are confusing and invite scepticism.

Then there's the oft repeated mantra of 'well, if a women is aware of the risks, she can make a well informed personal decision.' Which sounds marvellous. But what we see here time and again is that lots of women aren't being presented with any form of quantifiable risk, but with the idea there is 'some' risk, and 'best be careful' as a result. (Really, what are the risks of me contracting listeria from one portion of soft cheese? 1 in what? Or is there another useful way it can be measured meaningfully?)

Then there's the old 'risk/benefit' ratio. Which again, only really works if you know clearly what the risks are.

Like I say, it's a mess, and pregnant women just get battered from all sides.