Is it wise to try raw milk for the first time while pregnant?

[QueenOfThePride]

Can I drink it now or should I wait until I deliver (in 8 months)?

[Chicharronita]

The short, easy answer would be yes, IF you have access to high-quality milk, and if you normally have no trouble digesting it.

My long answer:

The first step I took towards traditional foods was when I came across the late Dr. Brewer's website, http://www.blueribbonbaby.org/ He claimed that none of his pregnant patients who followed his diet advice ever got preeclampsia.

Well, the first thing he recommended was a quart of milk every day! Previous to this, I had been off dairy for years (you can see my other posts about the disastrous health consequences that came of a low-fat near-vegetarian, heavy soy diet), but I had also come across articles about raw milk around this time. I have to admit I was a little scared, but decided to trust the new information. I started off slowly, maybe a cup of day, and built up to the quart during the middle of the first trimester. So I drank a quart of raw milk through the rest of my pregnancy! I felt pretty great following his diet recommendations, but I think YMMV.

The reason I had stopped drinking milk originally is because it left a heavy feeling in my stomach, and made me constipated. Well, raw milk gives me none of these problems.

[guestmama9916]

Raw milk is highly recommended by the WAPF for pregnant women. I would start now most definitely. For your peace of mind, go to the farm where it comes from if possible to see for yourself. Talk to some of the other farmer's customers and see how long they've been enjoying the raw milk. Watch or ask how the farmer milks his cows. My farmer disinfects the udders before and after his milks. He scrubs in like a surgeon up to his elbows before handling the milk too. He has modern milking equipment including stainless steel pipes and a cooling tank. This guy is the real deal. I have no worries. There's also a great power point presentation you can download from www.realmilk.com that will show you how raw milk is SAFER than pasteurized milk. More people get sick from contaminated pasteurized milk each year than from raw milk - this holds true even when the data is adjusted to take into consideration that far fewer people drink raw milk. HTH

Kim

[mama2j&t]

i first started drinking raw milk while pregnant

[QueenOfThePride]

Thanks everyone! Luckily, I'm a vet tech and I have some experience with dairy farms, so I know what to look for and what questions to ask.