What to Eat and Not Eat During Pregnancy

I was told that you can eat them, you just have to heat them to steaming (oven or microwave). I was not vigilant about this during my pregnancy and my baby is just fine. However, to be perfectly safe you might consider being more vigilant than me. :-)

When I was pregnany, I really limited the amount of cold cuts I ate because they are not always fully cooked. You are not suppose to eat raw fish(sushi/sashimi) and raw eggs (I remember eating chocolate chip cookie dough and then reading about the raw eggs). And you are supposed to limit the amount of fish you have that has mercury in it.
That's all I remember.
Congrats to you and your family!

Yes it's true, confirmed by the pregnancy books and my OBGYN during pregnancy. However, I was sick often during my first trimester and sandwiches were the only thing that sounded good. I asked my OB about the lunch meat ban, and she confirmed it, but then added this comment: "You are more likely to injur your baby in a car accident than by eating cold-cut lunch meat, but we don't tell you not to drive while pregnant. Use your best judgement."

I ate cold-cut sandwiches once in a while when I couldn't stomach anything else, but did my best to stick with other types of sandwiches (chicken salad, tuna salad less than once per week (watching the mercury content), egg salad). My baby turned out just fine!

J.

yes, my dr. told me not to eat lunch meat and soft cheese due to a bacteria that they can carry. You can however eat it if it is heated up, but to me it isn't the same when it is heated! LOL! I had major lunchmeat withdrawls when I was pregnant, I try not to eat fast food, so it was really hard to find stuff to eat for lunch! Good Luck -

When I was pregnant, I was told many times to make sure I cook my lunch meat because of the bacteria called Listeria. That being said, I ate bits and pieces of lunch meat (sometimes heated and not heating) here and there. I also ate peanut butter, chocolates, and hot dogs - all of which everyone say to avoid. I only avoided caffine, alcohol, raw fish and raw meat. I didn't take any extra Omega3 supplements or anything like that. My daughter turned out healthy, extremely smart and happy with no medical problems whatsoever. She never even had cradle scalp or baby ache. She's going to turn 1yr old next month and she's doing wonderful.

It's all about your personal beliefs and judgement. Good luck!!

You know, I read "What to Expect When You're Expecting" and followed it to the T. I didn't eat anything it said not to, and yes, lunch meat too, soft cheeses, anything unpaturized, etc. That book scared the heck out of me, and I know that our moms ate, drank, and smoked their whole pregnancy, and their babies were fine, but SOMETHING COULD HAPPEN.
My baby was GREAT! He was almost 8 pounds; needless to say, I needed a C-section because he wouldn't fit through my pelvic bones, but it was all soooo worth the way I took care of myself when I was pregnant, I wouldn't do anything different!
He was such a GREAT baby, slept through the night at 7 weeks and 6 days and never looked back. We were able to take him to restaurants whenever we wanted, of course if he didn't sleep, you'd have to pay attention to him, but he was good.
Anyway, I recommend doing what you're supposed to and not doing what you're not supposed to, an taking good care of yourself. I also gained 50 pounds while I was pregnant, but I quickly lost it, too. It's sooo worth it !
I'm sure you know ALL of this since you already have 3, but maybe SOMETHING in this response can help, he he!

Yep...it is true. I have heard it before. Then just went to the ob/gyn yesterday cuz I am prego with baby 4 also. Again, she reiterated that if you eat cold cuts you have to warm it up til' it steams...there goes the "cold cuts". Enjoy your "hot" sandwiches!!!

Hello R.- Yes, it's the new thing no hot dogs, no deli meat, tuna only once a week, no soft cheeses like brie. You can google an entire list of new foods to avoid or if you're Kaiser member you can visit kp.org. I was nervous so I avoided these foods. I did have a hot dog once and a sandwich once during my pregnancy. It's just better to avoid those foods.

No cold cuts, rare meat, unpasterized milk or juice, unpasteurized cheeses, soft boiled eggs, over easy eggs, raw fish, no tuna, shark, or other large predator fish, sprouts....

Here is the link to the FDA's website:
http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/HealthEducators/u...

use your judgement though. On the one hand, you don't want to drive yourself crazy, on the other food poisoning while pregnant would be terrible. And you certainly don't want to risk fetal brain damage from mercury. But you should eat some fish because omega 3 is good for brain development.....

You can make yourself a little nutty with this stuff, so just use your common sense.

Hello, R. L--

Whether a woman is pregnant or not, she is not supposed to eat cold cuts because of the nitrites in them. And that is true for any living being on earth. Please type the following into your browser to read more about cold cuts and nitrites.

http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/07/08/22/the-dangers-o...

E. C

I have heard that you should be careful eating cold cuts, but I ate tons of sandwiches when I was pregnant with both of my girls. The only thing I really avoided was seafood (because of mercury), alcohol and I limited my caffeine to one soda a day.

Absolutely, have heard this.
And it is true.
It's not super common, but it does happen, and you could lose the baby.
The bacteria is listeria.
There's no way you could tell it was there and avoid it.
And while the odds are you'd be okay, who would want to chance losing their baby for eating a sandwich?
It's any kind of lunch meat, and it isn't to do with the nitrates.
Here's a blurb on it(http://www.storknet.com):
************************
(At the FDA) I spoke with a very knowledgeable representative who explained to me that ALL deli meats, including turkey, roast beef and ham can possibly be contaminated with Lysteria monocytogenes bacteria, which can cause premature labor or stillbirth.
Of course, most of the pregnant women we meet eat lunchmeat all through their pregnancies, and nothing bad ever happens to them. Unfortunately, that does not guarantee that lunchmeat is safe. The *risk* is very small, but the *consequences* are very great. The estimate is about 2,500 people a year become seriously sick from this bacteria, and about 5 people a year die from it. Pregnant women are 20 times more likely than other healthy adults to get sick from it.
Other foods you should stay away from are soft cheeses, like you mentioned, smoked seafood (unless heated) pates, other processed meats like hot dogs or kielbasa (unless heated to steaming hot every time, even when eating leftovers that have already been cooked) or unpasteurized milk. Also soft cooked eggs can carry bacteria. The whites and yolks of eggs should be firm, or else it is not certain that harmful bacteria have been destroyed.
************
And, rare or not, I know someone who got sick from it.
Luckily a guy.
But, it does happen.

Yes, I've heard that.... no processed deli type meat only sliced turkey breast for example, from the actual breast....if it's got a circular shape it's too processed....... stay away from too much tuna either and shell fish....once in a while ok....obviously no alcohol, but I think a little wine here and there or a beer is ok. There are things that might not make you feel good when you eat it.... I couldnt eat pasta with mizithra cheese (and I love it) as it made me ill. Also, meat in general made me queezy..... natural, healthy foods are the best choices whether pregnant or not. PS The processed food have a ton of additives and that's the main reason for not wanting to eat them. ....enjoy your pregnancy.....L.

I haven't heard that myself. I think that in general you should observe safe food handling practices, and only shop in places that are clean and where the personnel can be seen properly sanitizing food prep surfaces, washing their hands carefully, etc. When I was pregnant, my doctor said that it was pretty much safe to eat anything that I could stomach. A lot of the things that "they" say you shouldn't eat (brie, sashimi, red meat cooked rare), I ate and both of my kids turned out great.

My sister in law had both of her kids in Italy, and it's interesting that they don't have any of the hang-ups that we do surrounding food and pregnant women (they have wine every night with dinner, and espresso every morning, among other things we're usually "forbidden" to have). She thinks we're a nation of Puritans at heart, and we want pregnant women to be miserable! =) I say, relax and eat whatever sounds good to you, within reason.

I had a high risk pregnancy and saw a specialist. When I asked her things like that (specifically about tea), she said, "Did you eat it before?"

"Yes,"

"Then eat it now."

I was afraid to drink tea because I read that it is harvested in developing countries and they tend to use human fecies as fertilizer.

S

yes this is true...however, just microwave your meat and you will be fine.

If the cold cut warning is about bacteria on the outside of the meat, you can make a soak of FOOD GRADE hydrogen peroxide (found online) and water. I use this soak for my veggies and fruits. (I do 1 tsp of peroxide to a large salad bowl of water. Submerge, let sit a minute, and then rinse well.

Cod Liver Oil is the one thing I wish I would have taken while I was pregnant.

I didn't eat that great with any of my pregnancies , but with my third, I craved a lot of sweets and carbs. My daughter was born with internal fungus and is Autistic.

I definately see the link between diet and nurtition.

Yes, that's what all the books said that I read. However, my doctor told me it was fine. I still had a hard time eating them. Check with your doctor.

Hi R.,

I have heard about not eating cold cuts, but it was way late in my third pregnancy. All three of my children are happy, healthy, and without disabilities. I think that if you are on your fourth child, you know what is best for you and your baby-to-be.

Good luck.

D.

I have just recently heard this after having 3 kids. I ate cold cuts through all of my pregnancies...no problems. I think you have to do whatever you feel most comfortable with. There is so much conflicting information out there...talk with your dr. and then make up your mind to what works with your family. You could go crazy trying to do all this things "they" say you should or shouldn't during pregnancy.

Hello R.,
Congratulations!!!! You are not supposed to eat cold cuts, hot dogs, etc while pregnant unless they are heated to steaming. The reason is because of a bacteria called listeria. It's one of the few things that could pass through the placenta and effect the baby. There's a good little thing on babycenter.com on it (http://www.babycenter.com/406_is-it-safe-to-eat-deli-meat...) which I found helpful. I ate lunch meat while I was pregnant with my daughter and nothing happened. However, a week before I had her I went on this thing where I wanted to read all my pregnancy magazines I had gotten from dr appointments and around. It was probably about 10-15 magazines and each had at least one if not more articles about it. After reading all that I don't think I will eat it with our next pregnancy.
I've also heard that you have to take into consideration where you are getting the lunch meat from. The way the bacteria grows is from it not being stored properly. So if you're at a deli where it doesn't seem like people care much about sanitation, don't get a deli sandwich while you are there.
Best of luck!!!
C.

Yes that is true - but I loved sandwiches while pregnant so just make sure the meat is heated (to avoid listeria). You should be fine. I ate a sandwich almost everyday while pregnant - sometimes cold, and i was fine and have a healthy chubby six month old girl!

The bacteria is a risk as well as all of the nitrates (sp?)
They can cause muscle cramps. My Dr. told me the worst offenders are bologna, hot dogs, salami, pepperoni etc.
Sliced turkey or roast beef from your deli counter should be fine as long as it's fresh. Smoked fish is a no no too.
Stay away from deep sea & carnivorous fish, soft cheeses, sushi and papaya, as well as booze and caffeine.