How many pregnancy no-no's do you ignore?

[BarnMomma]

I'm just curious if everyone here adheres to the standard list of pregnancy no-nos? There is so much conflicting information an dcultural diversity with what's ok/not ok.

For instance, if you are a raw milk drinker, do you continue? Some say no way, others say of course becasue it's healthier than pasteurized.

Soft cheese? Yes or no? Blue/gorgonzola? yes or no?

What about sushi or rare meat?

Wine?

Personally, I switched from raw to pasteurized milk/non homogenized(not sure I feel justified or not or just scared into it) and I skip the sushi and alcohol. I have had blue cheese, medium rare grass fed beef.

Guess I"m curious becasue I want to take a bath in blue cheese right now...lol

[sanguine_speed]

Raw milk is illegal to sell here, and I don't have a cow, so I don't have a choice there, lol. Soft cheeses are almost all pasteurized. I haven't had the opportunity to choose between unpasteurized or not, and I eat soft cheeses freely. I eat meat that is medium, not well. A well-done piece of grass-fed meat is pretty awful.
I eat deli meat sometimes, though not often. When I buy it for home, it's nitrate-free and organic, but sometimes I'll eat out and order a deli sandwich.

[gcgirl]

I drink alcohol, but very little (an ounce or two of beer or wine on occasion). I eat almost any foods, but limit the "scary" ones. I ate an albacore tuna melt once. That's my biggest transgression. I was coming off a horrid stomach virus and couldn't think of anything else to eat that wouldn't make me gag.

[Ashes]

I still sleep on my back and I am 20 weeks... I will do it ... I can't really help it. I did it last pregnancy and everything was fine.

I have had the ocassional raw sushi... more by accident. I still eat smoked salmon. I will have any cheese (I think it is pretty much all pasteurized).

I eat Subway deli meats once in awhile.... I had a steak that was medium rare (and quite pink inside).

I drink coffee every so often....

The only rule I really don't break is alcohol... mostly because I don't feel the need for it and DH is being sweet and not having any around me either. We were never big drinkers beforehand anyways.

[Peony]

All of them if I felt like it. I'm not a big drinker but might sip some of DH's, nor am I a fan of red meat so no rare meat either. Fish I can't stand either so sushi is out, but if I wasn't so picky then I wouldn't have a problem ingesting those things. I eat deli meat, soft cheeses, I don't drink milk but once again wouldn't have a problem drinking raw drink. I personally feel all the "no" foods during pg are way overated and I ignore everything. I do drink caffeine daily while pg.

[HappyTomato]

I drink raw milk and eat whatever cheese, deli meat or medium rare steak I feel like. I have been known to sip a glass a wine or a have a few sips of beer during pregnancy too if I'm craving it. Mostly I avoid alcohol though simply because I feel it puts a burden on my body that it doesn't need during pregnancy. I don't follow the food/drink rules but I do pay attention to other things like meds that aren't safe.

[sostinkinhappy]

Alcohol, smoking, and caffeine are the the only no-nos I really adhere to as a strict policy. Then again, I didn't do any of them before getting pregnant so starting them while pregnant didn't seem like such a good idea.

I don't eat deli meats (or meat) in general, so that one is pretty easy for me. I eat soft cheeses with complete abandon and did through three other pregnancies as well. I sleep on my stomach all the time (at 15 weeks, I can still get away with it) & I rarely sleep on my left side simply because I can't get comfortable enough to sleep that way.

[Bluegoat]

I pretty much ignore all of them. We don't have raw milk available, so that is not an option, and I am careful about medications, though I always try to take only those I really feel I need anyway.

But I eat the foods I want, and sleep the way I want, and do whatever exercise I want.

I do drink less alcohol, not that I am a lush normally. Part of it is that it is so socially unacceptable tand I just don't want to deal with the comments, so I mostly abstain.

I have cut back on caffeine - I have a 10 cup a day tea habit - but that is because I know it affects my sleep.

[MyLittleWarrior]

Originally Posted by Bluegoat

I do drink less alcohol, not that I am a lush normally. Part of it is that it is so socially unacceptable tand I just don't want to deal with the comments, so I mostly abstain.

Same here. I see no problem with a beer or a glass of wine consumed with a meal. My personal comfort level is 1-2 drinks a month, and not more than 1 in a sitting. However, there have been several times that I've wanted to order a glass of wine with dinner but didn't because I didn't want to deal with the comments or defend my choices.

I don't like blue cheese, and we can't afford sushi, but other than that I eat what I want. The WIC nurse gave me a little grief for not heating my deli meat to steaming but I rarely eat deli meat anyway so I just nodded and moved on. I was drinking raw milk until I lost my source (my good friend had to sell her cow ) and almost all soft cheese in the US is pasteurized anyway, so I don't even worry about that. I'm not a smoker. I do drink caffeine. I have a 4yo and a 2yo and honestly, sometimes I'm a better mommy if I have a little caffeine in my system.

[emnic77]

For instance, if you are a raw milk drinker, do you continue? Some say no way, others say of course becasue it's healthier than pasteurized.
We don't have a raw milk source at the moment, so no. I do drink unpasteurized apple cider.

Soft cheese? Yes or no? Blue/gorgonzola? yes or no? yes, I still eat both. I eat raw milk cheeses still.

What about sushi or rare meat? yes on both. I do avoid tuna because of the mercury issue. most sushi-grade raw fish in the US is going to flash frozen before use anyway. Next to tuna my favorite sushi is eel anyway, and that's cooked, so I've been eating that like there's no tomorrow. And our (grass-fed) beef we personally know and trust not only the farm but the slaughterhouse, so yes - I still eat my beef bloody and nearly mooing. I rarely eat meat from restaurants anyway.

Wine? Eh, I would have a bit here and there (or beer) but the smell of either make me gag when I'm pregnant. Same with coffee (though I'd be more inclined to avoid caffeine altogether than I would be the occasional sip of alcohol).

I avoid a lot of things that AREN'T on the "no-no" list, and ignore most of the things on the list.
I avoid high fructose corn syrup like the plague. I would never have anything with an artificial sweetener in it. I avoid deli meat but mostly just because we don't really eat meat that we don't know the source of anyway.

[columbusmomma]

A bit of wine after first trimester(but have had during first), sushi, lunch meats, soft cheese(US stores sell pasturized), and rare/medium rare good quality red meat! No more then 2 cups of coffee a day. Color my hair(I guess some people think that's a no).

[gentlecowgirl]

I ignore most no nos in moderation. I have cows so I drink their milk and homemade cheeses. I drink some caffeine if I want to and it is feeling ok. I drink a little alcohal occasionally but mostly it tastes gross. Sushi I would probably eat if I really trusted the fish (same as not pregnant). Soft cheese mmm definatly. Red meat raw, yes, but it is our beef. I do not eat any meat that I did not know personally with a few exceptions.

I have different pregnancy "rules" like, I must be connected to myself and my intuition and eat as widely and as gorgeously as I can. But I don't ever behave and I like it that way.

[cormama]

I follow all of them....I miscarried last year and don't want to even think that anything I did could cause it to happen again. I know it's probably nothing that I did that caused it, but why take the chance....it's only 9 months!! It's not going to kill you, lol.

[Gentle~Mommy :)]

I'm an older mom, I was pregnant at 40 with my first, I was terrified I would lose him so I didn't do anything I shouldn't. No drinking, smoking, and the food risks, I didn't take any chances.

Now when I got pregnant with my second, I didn't worry as much and had a few drinks over the course of the pregnancy.

[megviolet]

I don't even think about them, honestly. Raw milk cost a fortune here so i don't drink it anyway. I still eat japanese food... but i never ate the raw bits anyway...I don't eat soft cheese much and from what i understand all soft cheese in North America is pasteurized anyway (right?) i drink coffee on occasion, eat medium rare beef, eat fresh good quality deli meat, soft cooked eggs, and if later in pregnancy i feel like a half a beer i'll go for it
I don't smoke, but i didn't before pregnancy.

[Terrilein]

The only thing I'm really avoiding is smoking. At the moment, I'm not touching alcohol either since I feel so icky, but I feel the occasional glass is not going to do much harm, especially after the first trimester. And since I'm lactose intolerant, I'm not big on milk or milk products anyway. I did have a short cheese craving spree, though. I drink my coffee, but I've switched to mixing it half with decaf so I'm not getting my usual dose and I've cut back to 3-4 cups which is really then just 2 cups of the real thing.

[DeChRi]

I eat soft cheese, but not much of what we have here is unpasturized. We drink coffee a couple times a day. I will have an ounce or two of wine, maybe 1-2x in the second or thrid trimester, if I want it. Last pregnancy it never sounded good. I had about an ounce on Thanksgiving this year. We eat deli meat but it is organic, nitrate free and fresh cut from a local deli here...not the packaged kind. We don't do much red meat, but pregnant of not, I eat mine medium/well. I work out (bodybuilding hobby) much harder than the "guidelines" but my OB is okay with it, as I am pretty comfy in making adjustments if needed. All in all I do not change much when pregnant except cutting out most all alcohol and cutting my coffee consumption.

I have had 2 very normal, healthy pregnancies with textbook 30lb weight gains and 8-9lb babies. I am such a conformist, lol.

[ciga]

Originally Posted by BarnMomma

I'm just curious if everyone here adheres to the standard list of pregnancy no-nos? There is so much conflicting information an dcultural diversity with what's ok/not ok.

For instance, if you are a raw milk drinker, do you continue? Some say no way, others say of course becasue it's healthier than pasteurized.

Soft cheese? Yes or no? Blue/gorgonzola? yes or no?

What about sushi or rare meat?

Wine?

Personally, I switched from raw to pasteurized milk/non homogenized(not sure I feel justified or not or just scared into it) and I skip the sushi and alcohol. I have had blue cheese, medium rare grass fed beef.

Guess I"m curious because I want to take a bath in blue cheese right now...lol

oh let's see,
here is where I stray from the recommendations
-I ate raw oysters the other day and will probably have a bit of sushi for my birthday this weekend
-i have had raw cream and unpasteurized yogurt (though I will only really have those if they are from a farm/producer I trust)
-and unpasteurized apple cider
-definitely had medium rare salmon and medium rare red meat
-I will have a small glass of wine or a sip of beer here and there though my taste for it has seriously diminished since becoming pregnant
-i will eat any cheese that comes my way.

the only food recommendation that I do kind of follow is the deli meat one. I just don't can't be sure how fresh it is and... so when I have bought it I will actually cook eat slice before I put it on my sandwich. It makes me feel a little crazy but it also makes me feel better.
I've never been a coffee drinker but would probably have curtailed that if I were.
I'm also not a smoker but would never smoke during a pregnancy even if I was.

for the most part I feel like as long as I know where my food is coming from and how fresh it is (a concern I have whether I'm pregnant or not) then I'm golden

[marinak1977]

The only no-no's I am following are limits on medication (I've been 100% med free since the BFP), hot tubs (wouldn't feel good anyways as I'm so hot all the time), avoiding second hand smoke, and mercury rich fish (I may have had a couple of pieces of tuna sushi over the course of 8 months, but that's not something I'm stressing over). I think I've eaten everything else on the no-no list including raw meat (I love carpaccio) with no ill effects.

I have my own general eating rules that I follow - avoiding all artificial and processed foods as much as I'm able, no junk food, no deep fried stuff. If I'm eating it home, it's organic, mostly local, and preferably grass fed (for meat). It's a good thing too I've been only craving the good stuff most of the way.
I find it amazing that while the society worries so much whether the fresh sprouts are safe to eat nobody questions what all that artificial stuff does to the metabolism.

[Burnindinner]

I generally just listen to my body. I drink wine occasionally if I want it, though I have found in pregnancy it makes me feel icky and I don't usually want it. Same with caffeine.

With food, I eat it if it sounds good, avoiding high fructose corn syrup, processed foods if I can, and too much tuna.