Pregnancy Diet - Avoiding Things or Not??

[missrachelk]

Hi All - I am wondering and would love some discussion about the 'common' recommendations of things a preggo woman should avoid eating.

Personally, I am pretty 'out there' with my eating and choices as far as I strictly purchase meat which I know the farm it was raised on and know the conditions are humane, and I often drink fresh raw milk from a local farmer "Real Foodie". I've chosen to continue the raw milk because it has so many benefits (and not the detriments of homogenozed pasteurized milk). Same with unpasteurized cheese and soft cheese, I will definitely continue to eat those.

Specifically I am wondering about sushi. Parasites are different than other food borne illnesses so I'd love some been there done that type advice or some more specific advice from the medical professionals I know are on the forums. If raw fish really should be avoided there wouldn't be a problem with the cooked items available, right? What about seared rare tuna in general, not jsut sushi?

Lunch meats aren't something I eat very often, and I'm not really inclined to insist that they be steaming hot.

I fully recognize that everyone is different and that most are inlcined to do wahtever is necessary to protect their baby. I totally agree, but I definitely question governmental medical advice so I'm trying to find a balance for what feels comforatble for me.

Any comments and advice wold be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[phoenixgirl]

It sounds like you've done your homework and I'm not sure I really have much to add (I'm no medical professional). I guess what swayed me about the "do not eat" recommendations regarding listeriosis were how much more likely pregnant women are to succumb to it, and how terrible the consequences to your pregnancy can be. That said, did I follow the protocol exactly? Well, no. I'm 38 weeks pregnant, and I just had sushi the other night, and bleu cheese today, and so on and so forth.

I was more circumspect in the first trimester when the risk of miscarriage is higher. At this point I eat what I crave and figure if I succumb to a serious illness, we can deliver the baby ASAP (I'm almost 38 weeks).

So anyway, the consequences of listeriosis definitely scared me more than studies about the effects of caffeine or alcohol, things which in very small amounts pose no immediately risk to the baby's life.

And in the first trimester my diet pretty much consisted of anything I could stomach, which coincidentally (or not) involved avoiding most of the "do not eat" stuff anyway.

 

[Laila619]

I basically followed all the rules, just to be on the safe side. I microwaved my deli turkey until it was piping hot--I was too nervous to eat it cold. Once it's back in the sandwich, it's actually not that bad and you don't notice it's hot. I had some caffeine, but only minimal amounts. I stayed away from high mercury fish. No alcohol. Other than that, I pretty much ate everything. OH, I also avoided artificial sweeteners like Splenda and Aspartame. I tend to think it's better to eat 'real' sugar than that stuff.

 

[PilsnPinkysMom]

I am pretty mellow (perhaps to a fault?) and did not adhere to most of the do-not-eat lists. Sushi repulses me, and the high-mercury fish really should be voided... but I have a cup of coffee each day, once in a blue moon eat lunchmeat, have had unpasteurized cheeses, and have had a sip of alcohol here and there. Just a sip, though.

The one thing I will for-sure try to cut out before babe is born is the caffeine, just so that I don't experience withdraws when my sleep schedule is out-of-whack and I'm not sure what day/time it is.

On the flip side, I 100% understand the moms who say that they'd rather be safe than sorry. I totally get it. I wish I had more self control... but I just wanted to sip some coffee, damn it!

 

[Skippy123]

I followed this guideline. I guess I was pretty strict on myself but I figured it was only for a few months out of my life. I know some people who aren't strict and are fine. I would also research foods to avoid after the baby is born if you are going to Breastfeed.

I had no caffeine till I was 20 weeks; I felt safer that way.

I was super careful about seafood, and watched the mercury level.

I washed all fruits and veggies.

I never ate raw meats.

I only had 2 hot sandwiches ever during pregnancy.

http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancyhealth/foodstoavoid.html

another good website for meds during pregnancy is safefetus.com

 

[pancake]

I was not the strictest but I wasn't unconventional either. I'm a doctor, so my point of view is probably quite different from yours, Rachel, but for what it's worth:

- I had a glass of wine here and there from the mid-2nd trimester - maybe a couple a week
- I avoided raw meats and fish, but did not insist on eg. steaks being well-done, etc.
- I chose sandwich bars and takeaway places carefully to ensure that I was only going to places with high turnover so that the food was unlikely to have been sitting there long
- I avoided unpasteurised dairy (because that poses one of the highest dietary risks of listeria), soft cheeses, most cured meats
- I was happy to eat sushi with raw fish from our favourite local Japanese restaurant (because we know it well and everything uberfresh) but I didn't because my husband felt uncomfortable with it

I did not drink coffee but only because the smell of it made me feel sick throughout the 1st tri, and then I never got the hankering back.

 

[dani13]

Ditto Pancake!!

I am still drinking my coffee (although switched to regular sugar instead of Splenda). I had a salad with Feta cheese the other day...don't think that's a biggie. The hardest thing for me has been cutting out my wine. I love it!! I figure once I'm in the second trimester I will allow myself a glass or two a week. Other than that, I haven't changed my eating habits that much!!!

 

[Pandora II]

I'm very laid back, but I avoided:

- All unpasteurised cheeses and milk - I used to work with brucellosis and bovine TB and for that reason let alone the listeria risk I wouldn't go there. I also washed all salads and vegetables carefully as they are known carriers of listeria and e-coli.

- All caffeine.

- All alcohol bar one glass of champagne on our honeymoon.

My daughter was born opiate dependant and because we knew that she would be, I had a lot of meetings with the neonatal teams in a London hospital that deals with drug dependent babies on a regular basis. My pain specialist and I also did a lot of research into the latest findings on neonatal abstinence syndrome.

People worry about the miscarriage risk, but what they don't consider is the terrible withdrawal that babies can suffer to caffeine withdrawal - and you only need to be regularly drinking 2 cups of coffee a day. If you are drinking or eating products with high levels of caffeine I would suggest stopping a couple of weeks before delivery. The effects on the baby can be very similar to those exposed to drugs like heroin.

I ate sushi all the time - but here in the UK, all sushi fish must have been frozen for at least 24 hours before use. I also ate in reasonable places with high turnover and that looked clean. The main reason for avoiding raw fish is the risk of worms - which could be a potential problem for people who are malnourished but frankly shouldn't be a concern in the west.

I had terrible morning sickness till 27 weeks and ate enormous quantities of Granny Smith apples as that was about all I could face (despite taking promethazine - which stopped me being sick 20+ times a day but didn't stop the nausea completely). In the final weeks I ate chocolate in vast, vast quantities!

Another thing to watch is if you are on any meds especially anti-epileptic or pysch meds, check that they aren't anti-folates as many doctors aren't up on this. One of the meds I take is Lamotrigine which is an anti-folate, as a result I had to take 5mg of folic acid a day rather than the 400 micrograms that is usually recommended.

A great book I recommend to people is 'The Panic-Free Pregnancy'.

The other thing I always advise people to do - having learnt the hard way - is to watch your iron levels carefully and if they get low to hit the iron tablets. I had a massive haemmorhage after delivery and very nearly didn't make it, as it was I spent the first 2 days in ICU and having lost over 50% of my blood volume I had 5 blood transfusions. Had I not been so anaemic I wouldn't have been affected as badly as I was and the haemmorhage would have been less severe. Low iron can have much more serious consequences than just making you feel a bit tired and washed out.

 

[monarch64]

I am in my 26th week of my first pregnancy and all of my ultrasounds have been great so far. I do not eat meat, but have had white fish here and there as well as a tuna sandwich from Subway once in a while. Sushi does not appeal to my pregnant palate whatsoever, so I haven't purposely avoided it, just haven't wanted it. No soft cheeses. I love red wine and have had a glass whenever I felt like it, which has been 1-2 times a week. Oh, I have had a few sandwiches from Jimmy John's for lunches, and I did not ask them to omit the sprouts. I had cut out caffeine for health reasons almost two years ago, so that hasn't been an issue for me, but I HAVE had an occasional Coke or cup of coffee when I've been exhausted at work or just craved a fizzy, icy-cold Coke. Never more than 200 mg of caffeine in a day...I am more scared of caffeine during pregnancy for some reason than alcohol!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

I tend to think that so long as you do your homework and are comfortable with your choices, then you're making an informed decision and shouldn't worry about what anybody else thinks.

I barely drank caffeine or alcohol before getting pregnant, so I never felt a real urge to have any. I do have a soda now and again, but a soda typically has 50mg of caffeine and I believe the daily limit is around 150 or 200mg?

I did have sushi, but only cooked sushi, which was enough to get me through my pregnancy as a sushi lover And I had deli meat and hot dogs on a couple of occasions, but they were fully cooked. I'm not a cheese lover, so avoiding unpasteurized cheese was fine.

I had planned to eat healthy foods throughout my pregnancy--in fact, I was on a very healthy diet while TTC. But it all went out the window in my first trimester when sausage mcmuffins were the only thing that would keep me from puking in the mornings. Once I got through the first trimester, my eating habits were better, but I still had cravings for pizza and other not-so-healthy foods. I feel like you do what you need to do to get you through it, and often that means eating things you hadn't really planned to eat.

 

[stephbolt]

Well, I'm 22 weeks pregnant and am eating a dinner of a turkey sandwich with a half glass of wine...so needless to say I haven't avoided much.

I cut my coffee down to one cup a day, and didn't drink during the first tri, but after that I have had an occasional half glass of wine.

I feel like listeria is so uncommon and hard to predict where it will show up (thinking about the cantaloupe outbreak last year) that deli meat from a reliable source doesn't worry me.

I don't eat fish very often, but I've eaten sushi once a month or so from a restaurant we've been eating at for years.

I think, as a few others have said, that it's all about knowing the risks and what you are comfortable with.

 

[KatyWI]

Once I hit the mid second trimester, I started having the occasional glass of wine - maybe once every week or two on average? The whole time I've felt not the slightest bit guilty about taking a sip of DH's beer here and there, which has really kept me from missing drinking in general since I taste it all the time without actually drinking much.

All sushi grade fish must be flash frozen to kill parasites. The worry is actually more in poor food safety, and if you visit a reputable restaurant that doesn't regularly make people ill, you're probably fine. Additionally, you should be careful of the mercury content in the fish you're eating, but I can't imagine many people eat sushi often enough that it's a huge concern!

Listeria is the one thing that seems legit to me as a serious concern, so the only time I ate deli meat was when it was unavoidable (they had sub sandwiches at one of my showers!). I have eaten some soft cheeses, but only pasteurized ones - most chain restaurants would only buy pasteurized cheese, and my favorite goat cheese from Trader Joe's is safe too, thank god! Don't know what I'd do without my goat cheese.

Basically I'll echo what everyone else has said - we're all adult women here, and seem pretty intelligent in general. We all make our own choices based on what we're comfortable with. If you read up on the risks and manage your own diet based on your expectations and comfort level, you'll do just fine.

Oh, and do your best to ignore all the judgy-pants people that might have something negative to say about your choices if they crop up. Your body, your kid, your pregnancy!

 

[fisherofmengirly]

While TTC, I went to the most natural, unprocessed diet I had ever had. So far, I'm still on that. No fake sweetners, I only drink water (and organic 1 percent chocolate milk-- my first real *craving*). I don't eat lunch meat at all and try to buy organic meat and veggies. I love cream cheese, so am *so* glad that's approved by the professionals. We don't drink at all, though there was a fondue party last week and I was told there was wine in the cheese. On date nights, Paul has soda and I do take a "hit" from his cup (that's about all I caan handle of something so sugary).

I guess for me, the safest way is the best way, but it's honestly following my eating habits from before pregnancy. I've never had raw meat, I've never liked processed lunch meats, and caffeine has never been anything I've had a hankering for. Perhaps if my diet was different, I would make other choices, though.

 

[swimmer]

Congratulations Missrachelk!

Well, I'm pregnant the second time around so am a bit more lax, but like you I am very serious about where my meat comes from and only eat locally processed, organic, free range, etc. Having said that I do drink coffee. I just spent an hour seeing if any new coffee/pregnancy data had come out since I'd last searched and yup, it still says that keeping under 5 cups a day is key. Yeah, if I had 5 cups a day...well, my bladder won't even let me think about that! So I eagerly await a link from Pandora about the "heroin like withdrawl symptoms" of infants whose mothers had 2 cups a day because that data just isn't on pubmed. I drink 2cups (well in 1 mug) a day and my sample size of one is a very chill little man. I also eat soft cheeses regularly, locally caught fish, deli meat that I toast, and eat steak rare from locavore restaurants (too nervous to do anything with beef but stirfry or stew at home), and I see no issue in some wine here or there, I just don't personally drink.

I would hoever, never drink raw milk while pregnant. Yes, some see it as a panacea and I walk past the line of raw milk folks on my way to pick up my farmshare canvas bags but I personally would avoid that high risk till after done nursing. But as KWI pointed out, your body, your pregnancy and don't let others' positions make you feel judged. You did however ask and I personally wouldn't want to take the risks of the wide variety of live creatures in raw milk.

 

[Pandora II]

http://journals.lww.com/drug-monitoring/Abstract/2007/02000/Neonatal_Withdrawal_Syndrome_After_Chronic.19.aspx

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0091218291900832

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3420441

Here's a paper on withdrawal in adults - babies face the same symptoms as the caffeine crosses the placenta in large quantities. Add to that, the half life of caffeine increases from around 3 hours in an adult to around 10 by the last trimester in pregnant women. Half life is even longer in babies as they can't metabolise caffeine.

http://www.mendeley.com/research/a-critical-review-of-caffeine-withdrawal-empirical-validation-of-symptoms-and-signs-incidence-severity-and-associated-features/

The symptoms of neonatal abstinence syndrome are very similar no matter what the substance involved - high pitched cry, irritability, jitters, wakefulness, vomiting, difficulties in feeding, breathing rate increased. Certainly the hospitals treat them all the same way.


I can probably find a few more on my old computer - my pain specialist got me the full pdfs as he had the subscriptions but they are in hard copy. I remember very clearly that 200mg was mentioned as a dose at which problems can occur due to the extended half-life of caffeine in pregnant women. This chart shows the caffeine content of Starbucks: http://www.energyfiend.com/the-complete-guide-to-starbucks-caffeine

Everyone makes their own choices, I just like to let people know about the possible risks having had a substance dependant baby myself. I can say that it isn't nice and watching them being treated for withdrawal is not something I'd wish on any parent - even now my parents and some of our friends can recall the hideous high-pitched cry that she had. I had no option but to expose her to opiates (which are extremely safe in pregnancy) but caffeine wasn't something I wanted to add to the mix.

Despite the opiate dependency she had Apgar scores of 10 and 10, is way ahead on all milestones and is a very bright, confident, energetic little girl.

 

[Mara]

I didn't avoid that much necessarily, but I don't tend to eat things like lunch meat or canned tuna much anyway in general. Or drink lots of caffeine or alcohol.

I did love my sushi, and my Dr basically said... if you have gone to the same place for 10 years and never gotten sick, the chances are EXTREMELY slim it will happen during these 9months, so it's a low risk. But basically don't go try a new sushi place while pregnant... that's higher risk. I had sushi about once a month during the pregnancy, we have it once a week normally.

While in Spain I drank two tiny glasses of sangria, and I had my cup of coffee every morning thru the whole pregnancy, and a soda/coke almost daily during the first trimester as it was one of the only things that helped with nausea.

Random but I read also that pretty much almost any cheese in the US has to have some pasteurization, from what I recall--but we were in Spain so I avoided most of their cheeses though it was hard to do 100% as it seemed to be almost in everything--and I only ate a tiny bit of their ham.

I also didn't realize you shouldn't have smoked salmon and I was eating it once a week for the first 9 weeks, oops. But overall it was mostly things in moderation and I didn't 'cut' out anything entirely.

 

[mayerling]

I have about a teaspoon of nescafe in a glass of milk every morning - though I recently switched to decaff. Also, sometimes I'll take sips out of DH's coke glass, but not enough to warrant concern. All in all, I'm pretty sure my caffeine intake is considered safe - although what Pandora just wrote scared me.

I don't really eat luncheon meats, and when I eat deli food I ask for it to be toasted - though once a week I have a cold mozzarella sandwich but I'm not worried about it as mozzarella's pretty safe (and I add my own vegetables to it).

I wash my vegetables and fruit thoroughly using baking soda. I don't eat sushi, have canned tuna very rarely, and I don't drink at all - not a problem as I never drink.

Having said all this, I should note that until about a month ago I really wasn't very strict with my diet. I probably took a bit more caffeine than I do now, wasn't really concerned with whether the vegetables I was served at restaurants were washed very well, and I ate meat that wasn't well done. I was also on a cruise midway through the first trimester and ate pretty much everything they served. At the end of the first trimester, I started worrying about listeria and became more strict with what I consume.

 

[Bliss]

I'm definitely going to be more lax next time around! First pregnancy I was pretty rigid about everything! As a coffee lover, I stopped drinking coffee while TTC and it was heckola for me. I still can't have my beloved caffeine since I'm still nursing. But once we wean, it's ON LIKE DONKEY KONG!!!!!

I didn't have all the things the wise PSers above eschewed like soft cheeses, deli meats and etc. But I don't eat deli meat anyway. I did sneak a piece of sushi or two near the end of my pregnancy once I knew she was "viable" outside the womb! And I didn't eat any peanut butter, which DROVE ME NUTS!!!!!! I missed it so much. That was torture. I just recently added it back into my diet and am a happy girl!!!!! The jury's still out on whether eating or not eating PB can cause allergies but I just thought it would be safer and wanted peace of mind just in case. Peanut allergies are so rampant now. I also ate 95% organic and still do.

Honestly, I probably would do my best but DH was also watching me like a hawk so he definitely helped me stay on track. Ha ha. He'd stock the fridge with healthy organic fruit and treats so I was never tempted to go nuts on something unhealthy.

I tend to be paranoid sometimes so I probably veered to the extreme side. But I also didn't want to regret it later - eating/drinking chemicals (artificial sweeteners) or a bunch of carcinogenic foods while my body was pumping out the hormones like crazy with a developing fetus baking away. I also stayed away from food in plastic and didn't drink from the office water cooler with the BPA laden jugs. That was an insane time! Probably went waaaay overboard but have no regrets. Next pregnancy I am going to be more laid back and RELAAAAX!!!!!

 

[mayerling]

I forgot to mention that I'm also avoiding broad/fava beans - only started avoiding them after 9 weeks though - as a couple of my relatives have G6PD deficiency and I'm worried I might have the gene for it.

 

[swimmer]

http://journals.lww.com/drug-monitoring/Abstract/2007/02000/Neonatal_Withdrawal_Syndrome_After_Chronic.19.aspx

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0091218291900832

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3420441

Here's a paper on withdrawal in adults - babies face the same symptoms as the caffeine crosses the placenta in large quantities. Add to that, the half life of caffeine increases from around 3 hours in an adult to around 10 by the last trimester in pregnant women. Half life is even longer in babies as they can't metabolise caffeine.

http://www.mendeley.com/research/a-critical-review-of-caffeine-withdrawal-empirical-validation-of-symptoms-and-signs-incidence-severity-and-associated-features/

The symptoms of neonatal abstinence syndrome are very similar no matter what the substance involved - high pitched cry, irritability, jitters, wakefulness, vomiting, difficulties in feeding, breathing rate increased. Certainly the hospitals treat them all the same way.


I can probably find a few more on my old computer - my pain specialist got me the full pdfs as he had the subscriptions but they are in hard copy. I remember very clearly that 200mg was mentioned as a dose at which problems can occur due to the extended half-life of caffeine in pregnant women. This chart shows the caffeine content of Starbucks: http://www.energyfiend.com/the-complete-guide-to-starbucks-caffeine

Everyone makes their own choices, I just like to let people know about the possible risks having had a substance dependant baby myself. I can say that it isn't nice and watching them being treated for withdrawal is not something I'd wish on any parent - even now my parents and some of our friends can recall the hideous high-pitched cry that she had. I had no option but to expose her to opiates (which are extremely safe in pregnancy) but caffeine wasn't something I wanted to add to the mix.

Despite the opiate dependency she had Apgar scores of 10 and 10, is way ahead on all milestones and is a very bright, confident, energetic little girl.

Hmmm, the first study was on mate, which has 2-3xs more caffeine than coffee, the second is on animals exposed to 80mg, which is a great deal of caffeine for a rat, perhaps equivalent to several gallons for a human, and the third is the one I was discussing before with 400mg. The lit review on adults coming off of caffeine didn't seem really relevant to me in my searching as the ammts vary so much by study and didn't include any research on newborns, pregnancy, or even female subjects.

So yeah, stay under 5 cups. Sorry Pandora, you didn't sway me that caffeine is in any way comparable to weaning an infant off of heroin. I did know about the half life doubling third term and I still have zero problem with my totally legal two cups of french press coffee and don't see the comparison to an illicit street drug. I personally wouldn't drink Starbucks if they gave it to me for free as they burn and then torture their beans. Every momma has to make her own decisions about what is best for our babies so it is good to keep discussions like this going. I am seeing my midwife Tuesday and will ask her if she has ever seen a baby struggling for more than 4 days to come down off of a coffee dependency (the standard I just googled for heroin weaning); I'm sure she will enjoy the laugh, she practices at Brigham and Women's an urban hospital, but the very best in the US so lots of high risk cases.

 

[swimmer]

Not speaking to you Pandora in particular, but more the hordes of elderly women who tsk tsked my daily exercising and coffee. I'm sure you encountered their ilk as well! I am bothered when people try to scare mommas who are just trying to get through the day with a very legal addiction. I work full time starting at 7am and a toddler who wakes by 5, like millions of other moms I must have my coffee. I have however given up monthly therapeutic botulism shots for my own chronic debilitating neck pain. We all get to make our own decisions. I just hope for everyone that they feel comfortable with their choices and feel empowered in that process rather than bullied or badgered.

 

[aviastar]

I am not pregnant, but my sister just had her first baby and she was advised to avoid the deli meats because of the nitrates- there are many nitrate free deli meats out there (Boar's Head, I think?) that she was told were just fine. Is there another reason to avoid them?

 

[KatyWI]

Aviastar, deli meats are prone to carrying listeria, which is a huge concern because it's one of the few bacteria that thrives at refrigerator temperatures. Normal, healthy adults who consume listeria will often not even get sick, or of they do, it's usually mild food poisoning-like symptoms. However, with the compromised immune system of a pregnant woman, she can get very ill with listeriosis which often clinically presents as sepsis or meningitis (pregnant women make up about 20% of documented cases of listeriosis each year) and it can cause miscarriage of the fetus.

I'm no scientist, but that's what I got from the research I did for myself.

So, is it still pretty rare? Sure, I know plenty of people who ate deli meats cold while pregnant, myself included on a couple of occasions where it would be terribly rude to turn it down (like at my own shower) but deli meat and unpasteurized things are what I personally went out of my way to avoid during this pregnancy.

 

[megumic]

It's my understanding from my OB that the hype around deli meats is really about where they're being kept and that deli meat inherently is safe, but that it is the unpasteurized cheeses in the same deli counter and slicers where unpasteurized cheeses are sliced wherein lies the risk.

The nitrates are a different story though, as many deli meats contain nitrates.

 

[aviastar]

Thanks!

 

[Pandora II]

Swimmer, as I mentioned before it's for each to make their own decisions and you don't need to defend to me or anyone else what choices you have made. I endured more than just tsk tsk I can assure you - deciding to have a baby KNOWING you are subjecting them to a number of different class D and C meds gets you plenty of comments that you are an evil person for even thinking to get pregnant. Hence why I and my medical team did a lot of planning before I even got pregnant.

Obviously not every baby exposed to caffeine is going to go through withdrawal but the risk is there. It's similar in my mind to weighing up the risk of drinking alcohol or not. Not only is there the question of the increased half-life in the mother, but also the fact that is freely crosses the placenta, has an ever longer half-life in the foetus and they are not capable of metabolising it.

Nowhere did I say that a baby would go through 4 days of withdrawal - the symptoms are however the same. My daughter who was dependant with regards to prescribed very high doses of opiates was given oral morphine for 2 days once the symptoms started to kick in, but the symptoms were identical to those of a baby addicted to heroin or cocaine. The meds I was on are synthetic opiates and have a very different half-life from those of heroin, which are different from those of cocaine, or oxycontin or indeed caffeine.

I can only go with what the Neonatologists, Pain Consultants and specialist midwife who had 15 years experience in dealing with substance dependant babies (including caffeine) at one of the largest hospitals in London (Guys & St Thomas's) advised me - and that was a definite one normal cup or better no caffeine.

I just find it odd that people panic over their deli-meat, stop eating PASTEURISED cheeses, freak if they come within 20ft of cigarette smoke, stop dyeing their hair... and merrily knock back multiple cups of Starbucks and it's equivalent, and the only warning given seems to be about the increased risk of miscarriage. Even in the medical literature it's said that many hospitals don't recognise caffeine as being a possible cause of mild withdrawal-like symptoms.

I would guess that so many people are so deeply addicted to and reliant upon coffee that doctors don't push the point too much (they're probably hooked themselves) but I'm pretty sure if it came in medication form it would be on the avoid list.

Here's an interesting article from the BMJ on the other effects of caffeine on the fetus: http://www.bmj.com/content/337/bmj.a2332.full

 

[Loves Vintage]

I'm a follow doctor's orders type of girl, so no alcohol for me and one cup of coffee (which honestly, given mug sizes here was probably 2 cups a day.) I don't eat meat, so no deli meat issues for me. I had plenty of cheese, but I'm sure it was all pasteurized. I am really surprised that more people don't talk about the BPA issue. My doctors certainly didn't mention it, but I avoided it like the plague! Like Bliss, I brought my own water to work. I stopped eating all canned foods, so started using dried beans and gave up curries (canned coconut milk), pizzas out (sauce is made with canned tomatoes which, because acidic, may cause the bpa to leach out), any outside food which I suspected may have come from a can. If we have another baby, I will stick to the same BPA-avoiding measures. It was fairly easy for me, and I still do things like dry beans and pomi tomatoes (never canned!), but I will eat pizza out and love my thai yellow curry. To each her own, certainly. This is just me, but like I said, surprised, given the lists of things to be avoided, that doctors don't mention BPA.

 

[lliang_chi]

I totally ate sushi throughout my pregnancy. Probablyl every 3-5 weeks or so. I would only eat at a reputable sushi restaurants. I'm not really a sandwich eater, but did buy some deli meat and made my own sandwichies at home, and also bought some from deli/sandwich shops that I would frequent pre=pregnancy too. Re; soft cheese, yup still ate them. I don't care much for blue cheese, but didn't blink at the thought of eating Feta, brie, and the like. I bought mostly from reputable cheese shops and grocers.

The only thing that I did avoid per my doc's orders was raw shellfish. Which is a shame since I love oysters. But what can you do.

As for drinking, I didn't consume any of alcohol of my own, but did a few swirls and spits and maybe a sip or so of my sister's cocktail in my last tri.

 

[monarch64]

Whoa, BPA's. I did not receive or ask for a list from my doctor so didn't know to avoid those, and I had renewed my love of canned french-cut green beans and wax beans around Thanksgiving for a green bean casserole of sorts minus the cream of mushroom soup part. Oops. Oh, and I drank a lot of Progresso heart tomato soup for a few weeks until I got tired of it. I just did a little reading and it seems baby girls are more affected by maternal BPA consumption than boys, and we are having a girl. Hmmph. Wish I had known but all I can do now is avoid BPA as much as possible these remaining few months. Our "tupperware" is cloudy plastic which is supposedly BPA-free and I drink from a Nalgene non BPA water bottle at work so hope I'm ok with those. I never realized how much plastic is in my life, sheesh!!!

 

[Skippy123]

I'm a follow doctor's orders type of girl, so no alcohol for me and one cup of coffee (which honestly, given mug sizes here was probably 2 cups a day.) I don't eat meat, so no deli meat issues for me. I had plenty of cheese, but I'm sure it was all pasteurized. I am really surprised that more people don't talk about the BPA issue. My doctors certainly didn't mention it, but I avoided it like the plague! Like Bliss, I brought my own water to work. I stopped eating all canned foods, so started using dried beans and gave up curries (canned coconut milk), pizzas out (sauce is made with canned tomatoes which, because acidic, may cause the bpa to leach out), any outside food which I suspected may have come from a can. If we have another baby, I will stick to the same BPA-avoiding measures. It was fairly easy for me, and I still do things like dry beans and pomi tomatoes (never canned!), but I will eat pizza out and love my thai yellow curry. To each her own, certainly. This is just me, but like I said, surprised, given the lists of things to be avoided, that doctors don't mention BPA.

I didn't eat canned foods either! I guess I was pretty strict with myself.

Also Listeria can be found in uncooked veggies so I washed them well. I think people fear Listeria because it can cross the placenta. Here is some info. http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/foodnut/09372.html I never ate hot dogs either but then again I don't like hot dogs.

If I did eat meat, chicken, etc; I made sure it was cooked super well.

I think each person has to do what THEY are comfortable with. I think people are going to vary here.