Safe Foods to Eat During Pregnancy

My conversations with doctor friends and my own OB I learned that as long as you are healthy, in general, you can eat what you like. There are a few taboos if you are healthy - alcohol and sushi being two, and honestly, (don't flame me), if your sushi is from a reputable place and your alcohol just a sip here or there, you are probably fine. Actually, I read some midwifery books that suggested you should have a hot bath and a glass of wine when you go into labor to calm you down. :)

Realistically, I just ate what the babies asked for as I quickly learned some of the things I wanted - like fruit! - made me ill. Oh, soft cheeses and raw eggs are on the taboo list, as is cleaning the kitty litter as all of the above can make you and the baby ill. In the case of soft cheese, I've been told that as long as they are pasteurized you are fine. Common sense, EATing the kitty litter is way bad :)

You should be trying to keep down a prenatal vitamin to keep your iron levels up, and if you can't, flintstones are good enough.

Congratulations! Hope your pregnancy goes smoothly.

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Some people are militant about what they eat and others don't care. It kind of depends on what kind of person you are. Nitrates in a couple potstickers aren't going to hurt your kid. And be glad you aren't so sick that you can't eat at all!

I really don't have a lot to add except to reiterate not to stress. Stressing is worse than the occassional nitrate. I talked to my doctor when I was pregnant (and very few of these taboo items were even mentioned other than alcohol and raw fish not all sushi is raw). She told me I could have coffee, iced tea and even an occassional glass of wine would not hurt. Although I did stay away from the wine (other than a sip of a glass of some fancy Sonoma wine at a wedding) I had my coffee ( a cup every other day when I worked,) and my iced tea, I am an avid drinker, in moderation. My girls are healthy and thriving. When I was pregnant, lunchmeat was on the menu, and not even reheated! I had never even heard of that before! So relax, enjoy the foods, you like, be concious, but not worrisome of what you eat, and enjoy your pregnancy!!!

Usually with your first you will follow all the books... then the books get stored away and numbers 2, 3, 4 etc... turn out just fine. :-)

The only advice I can give you is not to be extreme about anything. Overeating something can be bad for YOU, not so much the baby, but it might mean your body is telling you something. Ask your doctor if in doubt. Of course doctors will always error on the side of caution but you don't have to change your life and likings unless you have an allergic reaction of course.

The basics of drugs and alcohol (and even caffeine) are only common sense. If it alters your mind, it will do the same to the baby, only baby is more vulnerable due to size.

OH...and congrats on the pregnancy... welcome to Mamasource! :-)

Congratulations on your pregnancy! Don't worry about the food. Just eat what you are hungry for.

I have 2 kids and with the first one, all I could eat was saltines and oranges for the first 3 months. After that I craved KFC nonstop for 6 months! She came out just fine and is at the top of her kindergarten class.

With my second child I did not have morning sickness quite so badly and so was able to eat a little better, but even so I had a crazy chocolate craving. I even had a glass of wine every now and then. She too has come out fine and her preschool teachers tell me she's very smart.

So... just enjoy getting ready for baby! Eat as healthy as you can but don't make yourself crazy about it.

I just born my second 7 month old baby girl and trust me, I eat good food and junk food (due to my silly cravings) and both of my girls were born very healthy. :) -D.

The label should tell you. And while yes you should avoid nitrates you don't need to stress over it. Like everything else it's about moderation. So an occasional batch of potstickers shouldn't be a problem. There were a couple of times while I was pregnant that I HAD to have a hot dog from the snack bar at Costco. I didn't do it often and my daughter is just fine. There are a few foods that you should really avoid. Basically anything raw, undercooked or precooked and not reheated (like lunch meat.) All of these things can carry bacteria and food poisioning while pregnant is very dangerous. I had a nasty case that I got from a free sample in the grocery store (wasn't heated properly). I ended up spending the afternoon in the hospital with an IV, a fetal monitor and everyone else who did their grocery shopping the evening before.

This is a great time of year to be pregnant with all the fruit coming into season (one of my favorite meals was just a big bowl of straberies with a little whipcream) so eat up and congratulations.