What you cant eat during pg

[nuddle]

I think I need a reminder, can someone tell me what sort of things to avoid...

[~jo~]

http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Pregnancy_and_diet?open

Alcohol during pregnancy
There is general agreement that women should not drink alcohol excessively during pregnancy. Excessive drinking in pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage, low birth weight, congenital deformities and effects on the baby’s intelligence. However, there is not enough evidence to identify what is a safe amount to drink during pregnancy.

The Australian Alcohol Guidelines recommend that women who are pregnant or considering pregnancy should never become ‘drunk’, may like to consider not drinking at all or, if they choose to drink, have less than seven standard drinks in a week and no more than two standard drinks on any one day.

Listeria infection
The bacteria Listeria monocytogenes can contaminate some foods. Healthy people may experience no ill-effects at all, but the risks are substantial for pregnant women. The greatest danger is to the unborn baby, with increased risk of miscarriage, stillbirth or premature labour. A listeria infection is easily treated with antibiotics, but prevention is the best. Some foods are more prone to contamination than others; exclude these foods from your diet if you are pregnant:

Precooked or ready prepared cold foods that will not be reheated- for example, pre-prepared bought salads, pate, quiches, delicatessen meats like ham and salami
Unpasteurised foods
Soft serve icecream
Soft cheeses, such as Brie and Camembert.The organism that causes listeria is destroyed by heat, so properly cooked foods are not a risk.

Salmonella
Salmonella is a cause of food poisoning that can trigger miscarriage. The most likely sources of salmonella are raw eggs and undercooked poultry. Good food hygiene is the best way to reduce risk of salmonella and listeria infections. Suggestions include:
Always wash your hands before and after preparing food.
Keep your kitchen surfaces clean.
Do not let uncooked food contaminate cooked food.
Wash fruit, vegetables and salad before eating.
Cook food thoroughly.
Keep pets away from kitchen surfaces.
Wear rubber gloves when handling cat litter trays or gardening.
Store food at correct temperatures.Mercury in fish
The Australian Dietary Guidelines advise eating one or two meals with fish every week for good health. Pregnant women can safely eat one or two meals of fish each week but they should choose the type of fish carefully.

There are a few types of fish that need to be limited because they contain high levels of mercury, which is dangerous for the developing foetus.

Pregnant women should:
Avoid fish with high levels of mercury - these are billfish (swordfish, broadbill and marlin), shark (flake), orange roughy (sea perch), gemfish, southern blue fin tuna and catfish.
Limit other fish, such as tuna steaks, to one portion per week or two 140g cans of tuna per week (smaller tuna contain less mercury).There is no restriction needed on the amount of salmon, including canned salmon, which is eaten.

Women should not be worried if they’ve had the odd meal of fish with high levels of mercury. It is only a potential problem when that type of fish is eaten regularly, which causes a build-up of mercury in the mother’s blood.

[Chickadee]

Try these two links from the Bubhub Info Directory:

Healthy nutrition during pregnancy (http://www.bubhub.com.au/infopregnancynutrition.shtml)

Newsletter article: Off to a good start (http://www.bubhub.com.au/newsletter/september2004.htm#sep04c)

Lots more info on other topics too, check out the lounges.

[bigglet]

Stuff that may cause listeria like soft cheese (brie etc) deli foods like ham, salami, sushi (mainly the raw salmon ones) etc

Make sure things like salads (potato, coleslaw etc) are refrigerated properly and that hot foods are hot. Cold foods should be cold too.

It's not just in pregnancy that we should be careful of but just be extra careful in pregnancy.

:)

[icugal]

At the moment, it feels like I can't eat anything... ;)

Yesterday in Coles, I had a severe craving for those garlic soaked semi-dried tomatoes *drool*... but figured that I probably couldn't have them :(

[nuddle]

thanks for the info

[littlejo]

This is a local (NZ) link to a brochure about foods to avoid during pregnancy:

LINK (http://www.nzfsa.govt.nz/consumers/food-safety-topics/foodborne-illnesses/pregnancy/)

[nuddle]

thats a good one, thanks for that... It sais done eat raw parsely... why would that be??

Also, what about peanut butter?? We have no allergies in this family, is it ok to keep eating it?

[Harlequin]

Id imagine the parsley thing would be for the same reason as the sprouts? They are hard to wash properly and there are salmonella risks involved. Ive never actually been told about parsley but I assume thats why.


Is it safe to consume raw sprouts and unpasteurized juices?
Raw vegetable sprouts (including alfalfa, clover and radish) and fresh (unpasteurized) fruit and vegetable juices are loaded with vitamins. Unfortunately, they can carry disease-causing bacteria (such as Salmonella and E. coli), making them unsafe choices for pregnant women.4

In healthy adults, salmonellosis and E. coli infection generally cause diarrhea, nausea, abdominal cramping and fever that lasts for several days. However, pregnant women can sometimes become seriously ill from these infections. Occasionally, a pregnant woman can pass a Salmonella or E. coli infection on to her fetus, who can develop diarrhea, fever and, less frequently, meningitis after birth.

A pregnant woman should drink only pasteurized juices. Check the label: the FDA requires that packaged unpasteurized juices carry a label stating that they are not pasteurized.

[yeya]

OMG... After reading all these posts I am totally freaked out..
I am not sure with the whole what you can and can't eat thing... Mainly because it differs in each country which makes me more inclined to think that alot of it is based on precautions only and not statistics...
I am currenlty living in London where I am advised not to eat tuna, but at home this is recommended..
Any advice/ tips here girls???

[nuddle]

if it is advised to stay away from tuna where you are, then I would go with that, there might be a bigger chance of getting mercury than what the aussies believe.. I know the germans are a lot more cautious in a lot of medical issues compared to the aussies...

[yeya]

You I see what you are saying.. So do you think that the same applies for ham and phili cream cheese.. cause over here the doctors say it's fine to eat that, but at home ( Aus) they all say its not.. SO CONFUSING AND STRESSFUL!!!