Pregnant - What Should I Not Do?

[harmonysweetpea]

Hey everyone,

I'm very new to this pregnant thing and it has made me realise how little I do know about the path ahead so I thought a good place to start was hearing all the 'dont's' that come with being pregnant. So please, share all the things I should stop, avoid, reduce etc. The doc gave me a quick summary today: No soft cheeses, deli meat, pre-prepared salad, anything that's been sitting out too long and those obvious things. But what else?

I'm sure the list is long enough to make me consider investing in a bubble for the next 8 months lol But I would love to hear what everyone has to say :)

[kabe]

Use your instincts and common sense. I found some restaurants can be pretty bad, especially any that pre make their sides. DONT be afraid to ask questions about any food you intend to eat, no matter where you buy it from. The best thing you can do is ask about the freshness each time. Always heat frozen food to boiling point if reheating to kill any bacteria.

Listen to your body, if it tells you to rest, rest! Dont strain or over do things. Relax at much as you can. If your body disagrees with something you are doing it will tell you. Dont live in a bubble just be sensible and you will be fine.

[smallpotatoes]

Raw egg is another - so things like homemade mayo. I also avoided runny eggs like poached eggs.
Sushi because of the rice

I found this website handy while pregnant: http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/_srcfiles/Listeria.pdf

I must admit, towards the end I ended up eating things on the no-go list, but I think it's up to each individual person to make the decision they are comfortable with, on whether to eat those foods or not.

[DaisyVB]

Personally, I find that a lot of it is just common sense and assessing the risks involved with each given situation.

I was a very active and sporty person before I fell pregnant, now I won't do a lot of the things I would consider 'normal'. I used to go horse riding but now I don't in the event something spooked the horse and I got kicked off. I don't walk the dog on any sort of terrain where I'm likely to slip if he gets excited and pulls on the lead. I don't play any sports now and basically just avoid everything.

I could never quite work out safe cleaning chemicals vs the non pregnancy safe ones so now when I do my house work I do it the old fashioned way and just use boiling water for my floors. My hubby will do the tiles using chemicals every 7 - 10 days for me and I just make sure I'm out of the house and he airs it all thoroughly so that when I return home the cleaning fumes are gone. I use gloves for everything else, including when I use cleaning wipes as I am paranoid that the chemicals will sink in through my pores. I feel comfortable doing all the other general cleaning using a very small amount of chemicals and I wear a mask whenever I deal with them so I don't breathe in the fumes. I will clean the toilet happily but I can't handle the showers, I clean them every 2 - 3 days with the shower grime wipes and my hubby does the full clean for me when he does the floors.

Food wise, I find my senses know best. I defrost all my meat in the fridge to be safe. I stay away from pork as it is the dirtiest meat. I get my groceries home delivered as I find I can exhaust myself by doing the grocery shopping, plus it saves my legs. I can never seem to have enough fruit so I do 2 additional fruit shops on top of my grocery shop because I munch on fruit throughout the day. I chose fruit as my source of comfort food as I used to love my nuts and sweets, so I trained my mind to look for fruit instead.)

When I go out for lunch I always ask how they prepare their food and how fresh the ingredients are (even though all these places are 5 star). You never know if any of their sauces etc might have traces of raw egg. I turn away any meat that I think has a hint of pink and I overcook my own meat at home for peace of mind. I stay away from all caffeine except for the amount that is probably in my hot cocoa that I have every night before bed. This includes coffee, coke, energy drinks and chocolate (other than the hot choc I have at night).

Stay away from the obvious things like smoking and alcohol, this includes staying away from people who smoke even if a stranger lights up a cigarette around you, move where you won't breathe in the smoke.

Make sure you apply your sunscreen regularly and dress warm or prepare for a change in weather. I have only been sunburned twice in my life and one of those times was during this pregnancy, I was out in the sun for 45 minutes and managed to get myself burnt. I swear I'm more prone to sunburn since I've been pregnant that any time before. As for dressing warmly or preparing for shifts in weather, you don't want to catch a chill and get sick. It takes me forever to recoup now that I'm pregnant because all my white blood cells are protecting the baby... so when I'm sick, I'm SICK!

Stay away from drugs, I used to take panadol and codral but now I won't touch them. When you get a headache I find a nice wet facecloth on the head helps. Usually you can find a hard ball between your thumb and index finger which if you massage will ease your headache (works better if someone massages it for you). The only drugs I take are anything that has been prescribed by my doctor and I've confirmed that it's safe to use during my pregnancy. Over the counter stuff, stay clear from them unless advised by your doctor.

I think investing in a bubble is a great idea! I swear since I fell pregnant I feel like I'm deemed an invalid. All I get told is you can't do this or that, you need to do this and that... it's very frustrating! Oh and REST!!! Plenty of rest. Sit down regularly and nap during the day if you are able to. I find that by napping between 10am - 11am and 2pm - 3pm it makes me feel a million bucks. Set yourself a regular bed time as it really does make the world of difference in my experience.

Buy your pregnancy multi-vitamin tablets and start taking them daily. I find that by keeping them next to my cereal that I don't forget about them. Drink heaps of fluids, invest in a 1L water bottle and count how many times you refill it so you know exactly how much water you have had to drink.

[kw123]

Agree that it's common sense, but remember that everyone has a different opinion on what that is! Some of the things mentioned here and in other posts are too extreme for me... :) Always buy good quality food, especially meat. Free range is best of course! I personally still eat pink meat but many choose not to. I'd rather eat no meat than overlooked meat but it's a personal choice. I'm sure you'll do some research but a bit of caffeine is fine too, although I've gone off it! There is caffeine in lots of stuff besides tea and coffee though. I still eat poached eggs but make sure they are cooked with no translucent bits. Free range of course. Make sure your eating lots of fruit and veg and stay away from junk as much as possible. Easier said than done I know!!

[troopingfairy]

eat lots of calcium enriched foods (milk, yoghurts, cheese) - check with your GP with what supplements are good or ok to take.

avoid VITAMIN A at all costs - anything with vitamin A can be alarming to the baby.. so no sweet potato etc and be wary of vitamins with A in them.

i ate sushi right through pregnancy no.1 and mostly through this one too.. but in saying this, i've always bought it from the same place and watch the sushi get made on the spot.. DD cant get enough of it! but it's up to you.

i avoid

runny eggs,
anything with mayo in it,
soft cheeses (most fetas are fine as they are pasturized!),
certain types of fish (you can google this and they will tell you which ones have high levels of mercury and to avoid them.. )
prawns (cook before eating them and dont let them cool - i just avoid prawns just in case - i prefer them cold anyway lol)
deli meats (devon, chicken loaf etc),
soft serve ice cream (apparently the vents in the soft serve compartments aren't cleaned very well in most places - but ice cream you put in your freezer is fine)
vitamin A
caffeine (i think they say 1-2 cups a day is okay but anything more will have your baby bouncing around your uterus all day lol)
alcohol (pretty obvious)
smoking (you may find with morning sickness that you dry reach if you can smell cigarette smoke - even if you cant see the culprit - you will smell it long before you see someone smoking!)
stress
lifting/moving any furniture
over-exurtion
I have to agree.. if your body tells you that you need more sleep/rest - do it! if you have plans to go out with friends etc but you're tired be honest and stay home to rest instead!

trust me.. if you over-do it your body will ache and be totally exhausted the next day and you'll need to catch up on double the rest too!

be safe x

[troopingfairy]

2 x panadol is okay to take every 4 hours if you experience any pain or headache etc..

though check with your pharmacist or GP before taking any other medications / cold tablets/ cold & flu soothers (those lollies you suck on) - some of them have medications in them and its best to be safe thats all.

[Chazrity]

I'd have to disagree with the comment about staying away from sweet potato. While it is true that you don't want vitamin A in any of your supplements, we actually get beta-carotene in foods which the body then converts to vit A if required so I think it's ok to eat 'normal' amounts of orange foods but stay away from Vit A or retinol in supplements.

[kw123]

I'd have to disagree with the comment about staying away from sweet potato. While it is true that you don't want vitamin A in any of your supplements, we actually get beta-carotene in foods which the body then converts to vit A if required so I think it's ok to eat 'normal' amounts of orange foods but stay away from Vit A or retinol in supplements.

Agreed - sweet potato is featured in many pregnancy nutrition recipe books. If you take fish oil also make sure it doesn't also include vit A as some of them do.

[Nickojoy]

Be careful of public spas as the bacteria would be ripe.

Listen to your body sleep when you need to, eat when your hungry.

[troopingfairy]

I'd have to disagree with the comment about staying away from sweet potato. While it is true that you don't want vitamin A in any of your supplements, we actually get beta-carotene in foods which the body then converts to vit A if required so I think it's ok to eat 'normal' amounts of orange foods but stay away from Vit A or retinol in supplements.

thats good to know CHazrity.. i avoided sweet potato with DD as i was told otherwise and havent eaten it with this pregnancy because of the same thing. good to know this though!

[SaminAus]

Never heard of sweet potato or vit a being bad before, sorry to hijack thread, but why is Vitamin A bad?

[felicia81]

Vitamin A from food sources is ok, but excess Vit A from supplements can cause birth defects.

[headoverfeet]

Soft cheeses are fine, just make sure they are pasteurized! Same with deli meat, just eat it hot ie- on pizza or in a toasted sandwich. Fresh salads, just use your common sense and wash them carefully.

What should you not do? You should not doubt your instincts, nature gave them to us for a reason :)


Sent from my iPad using Bub Hub app

[Zwergele]

You can have as much of sweet potatoe and carrot as you want. It is vitamin A in some anti-ageing moisturisers and supplements of vitamin A that can in certain circumstances cause birth defects. Our bodies need vitamin A.
All vegetables carefully washed and prepared as well as eaten fresh are very good for bubs.
Be careful with all soft cheeses, even pasteurised ones.

[headoverfeet]

You can have as much of sweet potatoe and carrot as you want. It is vitamin A in some anti-ageing moisturisers and supplements of vitamin A that can in certain circumstances cause birth defects. Our bodies need vitamin A.
All vegetables carefully washed and prepared as well as eaten fresh are very good for bubs.
Be careful with all soft cheeses, even pasteurised ones.

What's the risk of pasteurized cheeses?


Sent from my iPad using Bub Hub app

[Alphabetsoup]

Vitamin A from food sources is ok, but excess Vit A from supplements can cause birth defects.

"Preformed" vitamin A is unsafe in high doses in pregnancy - this usually comes from animal products or vitamins. Any fruit/veg/plants are safe because your body makes the vitamin A from the beta carotene.

Few more interesting points on this site - http://www.marchofdimes.com/pregnancy/nutrition_risks.html

[kw123]

Soft cheeses are fine, just make sure they are pasteurized! Same with deli meat, just eat it hot ie- on pizza or in a toasted sandwich. Fresh salads, just use your common sense and wash them carefully.

What should you not do? You should not doubt your instincts, nature gave them to us for a reason :)


Sent from my iPad using Bub Hub app

^^ exactly :)

[PuppyGuts]

Breakdance!

[harmonysweetpea]

Thank you everyone for the wonderful advice and responses. I found my first trip to a food court after getting our exciting news was a little stressful haha Thankfully we don't do take out too often. Some of the big no nos, like sushi are not things I eat and I don't drink coffee. Chocolate is my downfall. No soft cheese is a little depressing but easy to manage.

Things like the runny egg I'll have to change in my diet and even reading things about not eating raw cake mix. Never would have thought of that and that's my favourite part of making a cake haha

My sister is the mother of 7 and didn't really cease anything but wouldn't eat a lot of those no go things anyway. My food tastes are more exotic than hers.

I am flying to Melbourne for a quick trip next week so the flying is a little stressful at this early stage and we have a 13 day China/Vietnam holiday in June, so as you can all imagine, I've been researching lots about pregnant travelling and in China. Too late to get immunisations but it'll just be about being smart about our travel and what I eat.

Love hearing everyone's advice. Please, keep it coming :)

[fionaross]

Something I wasn't told was rice. If it isn't cooked or stored properly it carries high levels of listeria so avoid anything store bought made from rice ie sushi. After a recent bout of food poisoning myself because of this very thing trust me when I say steer clear.

[Nickojoy]

Reference to cheese, the only 1 i won't eat is blue, everything else goes down well. Remember we are a western country and in Europe pregnant woman eat it when they are pregnant, the same as rice and sushi (raw fish) in Asia.

My advise is avoid foods that could have a build up of bacteria. Like chicken cooked on bone and the chicken not cooked properly, meat needs to be cooked with no blood. Deli meats and salads are the same as sizzler avoid when you can as the build up of bacteria would be horrible and you don't want to risk it. Ham and other meat packaged is ok, avoid processed like luncheon....but must be kept fresh and not contaminated with any other food when stored in the fridge.

You can drink alcohol in small glasses on the od occasion but limit to 1 small glass.

Eat healthier but don't change your diet/style and don't eat excessive high in vitamin A foods.

[maria02]

You can have as much of sweet potatoe and carrot as you want. It is vitamin A in some anti-ageing moisturisers and supplements of vitamin A that can in certain circumstances cause birth defects. Our bodies need vitamin A.
All vegetables carefully washed and prepared as well as eaten fresh are very good for bubs.
Be careful with all soft cheeses, even pasteurised ones.

Liver and pate are the two big ones that have vitamin A in a form that could be harmful to bubba if you have too much.



My little munchkin due May 2012! So to keep me busy till then, I'm learning how to use my iPhone.

[Chazrity]

I agree with Maria02 re: liver & pâté. Liver contains lots of vitamin A.

[harmonysweetpea]

This has freaked me out a little since we are headed to China in June. Eeek! I'll be towards the end of my second trimester then I think and most of the food they eat involves rice. Cooked rice though. Hmm... will have to be careful with that now too when I thought the rice would be the easy part lol Thanks for the heads up.

Thankfully neither liver or pate appeal to me at all! And I am happy to abstain completely from alcohol for 9 months as I am not a huge drinker.

[maria02]

You'll be fine if the rice is piping hot! Everything really should be good if it's served really hot. Just try to eat at places that look busy & have a high turnover too so you know the food hasn't been sitting around too long :)

Jealous of your trip to China! We spent 6 weeks there in 2010 and loved it! I think DH just went there for the food though haha!


My little munchkin due May 2012! So to keep me busy till then, I'm learning how to use my iPhone.

[kw123]

Enjoy China! I wouldn't worry too much... Millions of babies born in Asia where lots of rice is eaten and you don't hear of any huge lysteria issues...

[DaisyVB]

There is caffeine in lots of stuff besides tea and coffee though. I still eat poached eggs but make sure they are cooked with no translucent bits. Free range of course. Make sure your eating lots of fruit and veg and stay away from junk as much as possible. Easier said than done I know!!

If you're a tea drinker you can buy a lot of flavoured teas that have no caffeine content. Just take a little extra time when you do your shopping and read the ingredients... There are a few that say no caffeine on the front but most of them don't.

I was terrible when it came to junk food at the start of my pregnancy, I made a vow that whenever I craved junk food I would eat a piece of fruit instead... Unfortunately the amount of fruit I would normally eat in a week has multiplied by at least 5 times... but I'm sure it's better than eating junk food haha. A couple of months ago I went through a cherry and grape phase and ate 2 kg of cherries and 3 kg of grapes a week... that was on top of all my normal fruit too!

I recommend if you choose an alternative to your junk food, make sure that there is a cupboard or something that can be locked and you stick all your junk food in there... I had this huge crisis two days ago and needed comfort food... There was absolutely no junk food in the house! Not even a scoop of ice-cream. So now I have a cupboard stocked and I gave the key to my hubby to hide and when I next have a crisis I can call him and demand for the key! :freakingout:

[harmonysweetpea]

LOL Daisy, chocolate has always been my downfall but surprisingly I haven't been eating it as much since I found out. I normally crave it most days but I think I've only eaten it once in this time so doing well... so far. I am trying to increase my fruit and vege intake though as I'm not always that well behaved with my daily recommended intake.

I'm not a tea drinker either actually. Not a lot of vices... other than the dreaded chocolate!

China will be amazing and its bad timing I won't be able to enjoy it to my full capacity but I don't think it will take away the amazing experience at all... other than being exhausted a bit quicker. Apparently Chinese women may touch pregnant bellies a lot though LOL Oh well!

[DaisyVB]

Chocolate is my downfall too. It's just something you can't live without!
It took me about 2 weeks to get off chocolate and eat fruit instead.
I seem to eat fruit until I get to the point where looking at that particular fruit makes me sick. My last faze was strawberries and bananas and now I'm on plums and grapes...

The chinese have this green tea that is apparently really good for you that they serve with all their meals at the start. Personally I never really liked it but I used to drink a pot of it every time I had chinese and it wasn't that bad after a while ... Could use some sugar though :laughing:

[plain dreaming]

Paracetamol is perfectly safe. And in fact if you have a fever it is more dangerous to the bub. Overheating can affect its brain development. So you're better off taking a paracetamol to reduce the fever. You are not being a hero for putting up with it, its risking baby.
Just make sure it is not in a cold and flu tablet combined with other things as those other ingredients are bad. Best taking plain paracetamol (read the box. 2 tablets every 4 hrs normally. And taking only 1 is not "safer" as its below the theraputic dose so it wont help you)

Hope that helps :)

The list is long hey! Food courts are stressful. I often travel as I live away from my family so we often have no choice but to have dinner at a road house.
I had a burger the other day (maccas) but it made me feel sick (my belly is sensitive to sulphites and glutamates anyway so I shouldnt eat it any way, silly me) Next time I think Ill pack a can of salmon and can of beans or veggies in the car to eat.

But does anyone have good ideas on what is a healthy safe option at a food court or road house?
Thanks

[plain dreaming]

Also I was at a wedding last week (during tww) and was able to sublty avoid the rare meat and alcohol but had to eat prawns as everyone knows I love them and they would have known straight away, plus there was no one to swap with.
Now that I know I am pregnant I feel bad and stressed that I had it.

It was a reputable place though, and I didnt get sick after. But I read listeriosis can come 3 weeks later. Really? Should I be worried?

I know realistically if ive eaten prawns so many other times in my life and never been sick, why would I suddenly get it now, but then I read sometimes you dont feel sick but it can still get into baby? Really?

Anyway too late to change it so Ill try not to stress. Avoiding all these foods is totally going to force me to tell people Im preg sooner than I planned too, spec since I have another wedding next week!

[kw123]

Why do you think you can't eat prawns? You and baby will be fine! Some people prefer to avoid cold cooked prawns as they don't know how long they have been out, etc but a reputable place won't have food hygiene issues and hot ones are no issue. Honest!

[elleandsam]

I use to be a chef and studied food safety as part of my training. Majority of listeria poisoning happens in the home from not storing or reheating left overs correctly.

With that in mind during both pregnancies I ate all the no-nos including sushi, unpasterioused cheese and milk, rare meat, and pre-packed salads.

I avoided soft serve because I use to work in fast food and I know how 'clean' my store kept our machine do now I avoid it pregnant or not.

Keeping fit is important during pregnancy for your labour and your recovery. Now I ended up with a csection but I had an excellent quick recovery because I was so healthy. If you were active beforehand it is quite okay to remain active. I use to do spin and pump until I was 27 weeks and went to bed rest in hospital due to placenta previa (which is luck of the draw and not diet or exercise related) and there I had an exercise plan tailored by the hospital physio.

Smoking and alcohol is all I avoided. While in hospital they offered me 4 coffees a day! I asked my OB and he said that instant coffee is perfectly fine up to 3 cups a day. Chocolate is also fine.

Nuts are important! They are so so good for you!

Stress is what you don't need so please don't stress about every little piece of food you eat. When our mothers were pregnant there weren't all these rules and shock horror the species survived!

[Nickojoy]

The Asian community eat sushi and other raw fish and they do in Asia whilst pregnant. The Europeans eat the cheeses. Eggs should be fresh, meats should be cooked.
I have in no way changed my diet because the book says so.
Asians are the smartest in the world and to date it hasn't effected their babies .

[Humphreyisapuppet]

Hrmm! well all i avoided were the obvious - alcohol, the deli section at the supermarket and my all time fav food sushi :(

I was lucky enough to have a straight forward easy pregnancy and gave birth to a healthy DD.
I kept up exercise till the very end as it is good for you and bubs and helps with labor.
The exercise i did was walk the dog everyday for about 45mins and i also swam every day.

I did not eat any more food than usual and never had cravings.
i just ate my normal sensible meals and increased my water intake.

You are pregnant, you dont have an illness or disease. Listen to your body. Everyone is different with what they can/cant do during pregnancy. It also depends of the woman's health and if she is going thru a difficult pregnancy.

Goodluck and enjoy being pregnant :)

[FingersxCrossed]

Don't buy cute strappy flat shoes thinking they will be awesome and comfy in place of heals for work as your bump gets bigger :( that's what I did and I can reach down to buckle them up now!

[GothChick]

Stay out of hot tubs and do not have your baths too hot, very dangerous to bubs.Rule of thumb is, if your skin turns even slightly pink, it is too hot for baby.

[Zakmick]

Don't change kitty litter, get your partner to do it or glove up heavily and wash hands thoroughly.