No-food during pregnancy

[Athravil]

Out of curiosity I would like to know if there are differences around the world concerning what type of food that you are advised not to eat during pregnancy, do you take it seriously and why?

I am from Norway and we have a list of food types that we are advised to avoid during pregnancy; such as:
Salami, salted ham and similar products (non heated meat products)
Fresh water fish above 2 kg, wild mushrooms because we still have a lot of radioactive pollution after the Tschernobyl catastrophe and other chemicals.

[ithappened]

In my region of Austria they advise not to smoke and that's about it.

[prone_to_wander]

Here in HK they don't like you to eat watermelon...based off of Chinese medicine. There are LOTS of things they suggest you shouldn't eat...even mangoes. One thing I learned was that Green papaya can encourage contractions and should only be eaten late in the 3rd trimester.

[jecombs]

Here in the US the list of no-no foods is long. I'm not supposed to eat sushi, caffiene, eggs that are not thoroughly cooked, hotdogs, deli meat, smoked meat, unpasturized or soft cheeses, unpasturized milk and juice, all alcohol/wine, swordfish, shark, king mackerel and tile fish (due to high levels of mercury). My MW also wants me to avoid all tuna because of the mercury level.

Personally, I do not avoid all these foods and I do eat the occassional sunny-side up egg. I think pregnancy women in the US are told too many things are dangerous. And this list doesn't even include things like chamomile tea or other herbal teas which some people feel are dangerous.

[lifeguard]

When I was in Costa Rica & pregnant people were CONSTANTLY sending unripe mangoes home with dh for me. Apparently they are supposed to be good for pregnancy?! I didn't encounter any no's that I can think of.

[Lauren31]

Here in germany they do not say much of anything to me except don't drink a lot of beer. I don't drink any beer so I guess it's ok.

[emnic77]

Originally Posted by jecombs

Here in the US the list of no-no foods is long. I'm not supposed to eat sushi, caffiene, eggs that are not thoroughly cooked, hotdogs, deli meat, smoked meat, unpasturized or soft cheeses, unpasturized milk and juice, all alcohol/wine, swordfish, shark, king mackerel and tile fish (due to high levels of mercury). My MW also wants me to avoid all tuna because of the mercury level.

ditto this list.

I pretty much ignore most of it. I do avoid high mercury level fish and caffeine, as well as any artificial sweeters (I avoid them anyway), but that's about it.

The "sushi rule" is so stupid....not all sushi is made from raw fish, and pretty much all raw fish used in sushi is going to be flash frozen and probably 10 times safer than any package of meat you pick up in your average grocery store. I eat a ton of sushi, guilt free. Soft cheeses, too.

Deli meats - listeria can come from anything. Soft serve ice cream is involved in way more listeria cases than deli meat. It's such an arbitrary list, it actually really makes me angry.

[Pinoikoi]

Originally Posted by jecombs

Here in the US the list of no-no foods is long. I'm not supposed to eat sushi, caffiene, eggs that are not thoroughly cooked, hotdogs, deli meat, smoked meat, unpasturized or soft cheeses, unpasturized milk and juice, all alcohol/wine, swordfish, shark, king mackerel and tile fish (due to high levels of mercury). My MW also wants me to avoid all tuna because of the mercury level.

Personally, I do not avoid all these foods and I do eat the occassional sunny-side up egg. I think pregnancy women in the US are told too many things are dangerous. And this list doesn't even include things like chamomile tea or other herbal teas which some people feel are dangerous.

the list my OB gave me had added alfalfa sprouts as well.. because I guess they are kind of sparse and difficult to wash and no one cooks them..

Tasty too!

[velveeta]

I agree with emnic77 -- the list is so arbitrary! I have a built-in "no-foods" sensor, apparently. Insane, unstoppable nausea.

I can't eat pineapple at all, even though it tastes good and appeals. It makes me super sick.

[Athravil]

Interesting to see all the differences, thanks for sharing!

In Norway both smoking, alcohol and other types of drugs/narcotics are absolutely no-no. And quite a lot of help is offered for those who are addicted to one or more of these to minimize use as much as possible; aiming to stop using all together.

Our food list also contains unpasteurized cheese and blue cheese and similar.

Meat should be well done and never red. Especially for minced meat/burgers/hot dogs etc.

Sushi is actually yes under caution - meaning only eating at places you trust to take hygiene seriously and to check that the fish used has been frozen.

For vegetables and fruits it only state wash thoroughly

And to be cautious about how much caffein you drink through coffee, tea and coca cola and other sodas containing caffein. However, the maximum limit of e.g. coca cola is one litre a day!

They also recommend caution regarding artificial sugar but does not set any restrictions.

How seriously I take the list depends on what I feel I can control and not. E.g. vegetables I feel safe that I can wash them good enough and does therefore not hesitate to eat them uncooked. I can control the amount of possible radioactive/mercury fish/mushrooms I eat and do not believe one or two meals with it will hurt my baby, but I would not eat it every day.

I do not feel I can control the level of toxoplasmosis or listeria in the above mentioned meat and cheese products, therefore I rather avoid them than hating myself the rest of my life for not resisting and having severe infection by one of them. I am perhaps very influenced by an incident during my last pregnancy where a friend of mine just had given birth and her husband got a severe listeria infection after eating her sandwich with blue cheese at the hospital. At the same hospital a pregnant woman lost her twins because of the same cheese. It was just one sandwich! It scared me very much that such a little amount of food could cause such a horror. Especially since we here in Norway tend to think that our foods are very safe because of very strict rules regarding food processing.

But I do believe people have to figure out what they are ok with. And I believe it is more important to be able to eat something during one's pregnancy than nothing. So if salami or sushi is what you are able to eat, then please eat it.

[Tattooed Hand]

I think some of what you describe goes for non=pregnancy - limiting caffiene (1 litre a day is alot of soda!), processed meat and other foods, washing your fruits and veggies and not eating raw fish at dubious establishments.

That said, I absolutely lusted for stinky soft cheese in early pregnancy. I figured that I eat it all the time and I want it and so I'm gonna eat it. I got it from a high end store though, not sure if I would eat it at a hospital since their food (at least in the US) is notoriously disgusting. I had alcohol too, like a half beer or glass of wine once a week.

what I did stay away from was processed food, more than half a cup of coffee a day, refined sugar, white flour, shell fish and high mercury fish. Otherwise, I ate the things I wanted.

[Gimme Pineapple]

I am in the US too and have been handed the huge list. The only thing I have avoided are sushi and alcohol. I LOVE blue cheese and eat it frequently.

I do live with a family member that isn't a very good cook and I like to use the excuse "Ohhh. I don't think I can eat that while I'm pregnant." It has gotten me out of some pretty awful looking dinners.

[Kidzaplenty]

[superlove]

In india they are told to ABSOLUTELY avoid papaya and pineapple. In NewZealand they are told to avoid all shell fish. I never heard either of these in the US, but since i'm not feeling quessy and can eat most things, i feel I would rather be safe than sorry. That being said, I will still eat shrimp often:-)

anyone heard of wheatgrass being contraindicated during pregnancy?

[SummerLynn]

no watermelon? crazyness! WHY?

I was shocked that my doc office didnt give me the long list of no no foods, or every really speak to me about it. They either assume that since i've been pregnant before that I know, or that i'll figure it out. lol

That being said there isnt much I avoid because of pregnancy. Just moderate.

[Ashes]

Fascinating thread! Thanks for all the entries. Hej Athravil, I am Danish ( but live in Canada now ). All of the regular Danish food I enjoy seems to be a no no as so many items are under cooked - or liver pate related.

The one thing that was "different" was.... no honey! Apparently nearly all honey is unpasteurized. I have gone ahead and had some anyways...

[ObliviousAnnette]

http://www.articlealley.com/article_668221_17.html

Just one example, one source of why you shouldn't drink alcohol during pregnancy.
Even once, even rarely can have a negative outcome and harm your child.
Maybe not at birth, but we don't get pregnant just to have babies. We are raising them to adulthood.

Please don't drink alcohol during pregnancy.

[Ashes]

Our healthcare system in Canada says that no alcohol is best in pregnancy too. You just don't know for sure what the effects are. My reason for not having any is if there WAS something wrong, I could at least not feel guilty about drinking any alcohol (although I am sure a tiny bit is not going to do anything).

[ObliviousAnnette]

I am not sure anyone knows the long term effects of even "a tiny bit" of alcohol. There is medicine and then there are controlled substances. Pregnant women take medicine to deal with problems that arise during or due to pregnancy. Controlled substances are recreational. The only "positive" effect they have on the mother is making her "feel good".
Making an assumption that a little bit won't hurt, or binging once, or a drink a week, is ok, when we know that it can cause short and long term damage is at least irresponsible. What circumstances is it ok to put your child in harm's way? Born or unborn?
It isn't even as if "no alcohol during pregnancy" is arguable in mainstream or alternitive medicine. Have you ever seen a child with FAS?
Of all the things that as parent's we can and can't control, it seems like this is the least of the things that we can control and not do.
Yes, our bodies, our decisions, but if you choose to bring a child to term and raise it, your actions bear out consequences on another human being.

[Blanca78]

Originally Posted by Ashes

Our healthcare system in Canada says that no alcohol is best in pregnancy too. You just don't know for sure what the effects are. My reason for not having any is if there WAS something wrong, I could at least not feel guilty about drinking any alcohol (although I am sure a tiny bit is not going to do anything).

I'm not drinking either, at least not in the first trimester. I do plan to have a glass of wine on my birthday (in the second trimester), and maybe once or twice beyond that. Otherwise, it's not worth the risk. But at the same time, it's not because of articles like the above. It says children of mothers who drink are more likely "to act like little juvenile delinquents." Hardly an objective journalistic measure of children's behavior, which makes me not exactly want to trust the source.

One drink a week seems like more than "moderate" drinking by pregnancy standards. If the study the article cites had looked at one drink a month or less, I'd be more freaked out by it. Betty Draper's kids--not to mention my own parents--turned out okay, didn't they?