(originally posted December 2007. Reposted in honor of my dear friend Laurie!)
Oh the sacrifices we make to bring those sweet little bundles into the world! Here’s a quick list of foods to avoid while pregnant to protect the health of your developing baby:
- Sushi – raw meat and raw fish are completely off limits
- Oysters – raw shellfish is a no-no
- Rare meat – allows dangerous bacteria to survive
- Pate – all types (even vegetable) can contain Listeria bacteria
- Refrigrated smoked seafood – say goodbye to lox and whitefish
- Deli sandwiches – deli meat would have to be heated to 165 degrees F to be safe
- Soft cheese – No feta, blue, brie, etc, even if they’re pasteurized
- Raw or undercooked eggs -found in key lime pie, hollandaise sauce, chocolate mousse… Be suspicious of bakery creams
- Peanuts – some food allergists believe that eating peanuts while pregnant increases the chance of your baby developing a dangerous peanut allergy. Other nuts are fine.
Related posts:
- Protect Your Baby from Allergies & Eczema
- BPA + Pregnancy = Danger
- Mercury, Fish and Pregnancy – The FDA Scandal
- Made in China
- My Cosmetic Purge
Tags: healthy pregnancy
Really?
I agree with some of these, but having those all as hard rules feels like a stretch. Tons of pregnant women crave and eat peanut butter without having allergic kids. Neither my husband or I have food allergies – is my eating peanuts really going to create an allergy?
You left out cooked fish – foods like swordfish can contain mercury. I’ve been eating raw salmon and will continue to do so through my pregnancy. So long as it’s from reputable restaurants (I’m not eating it at gas stations or buying packages sitting out in the grocery store deli), it’s unlikely I’ll contract anything, and salmon has tons of benefits. (Women in Japan eat sashimi while pregnant all the time, and it’s something I’ve been eating for years.)
I definitely think that women should think about what they put in their bodies while pregnant, but I’ll take my raw fish, organic peanut butter and over-easy eggs over fast food any day where health is concerned. While I appreciate the spirit of your post, I don’t agree that what not to eat is as black and white as a quick list.
Janine, That’s a fair criticism. Thanks for your candor. It’s definitely a personal decision what small risks to take. Really we take risks every day! Yes, I can’t say that giving up peanut butter is a must for most pregnant women, but I do think it’s worth knowing the potential link to baby developing an allergy. If your family has a history of allergies to peanuts, especially life-threatening allergies, than giving it up during pregnancy would probably be worth it. I know moms who face the enormous challenge of trying to inform caregivers and friends constantly of a life-threatening allergy. I’m sure they’d have given up peanut butter during pregnancy even if it had the potential of preventing the allergy. I for one did eat peanut butter, and would do so again! Thanks again for your comment!
I agree with the commenter here. Part of what made my experience great was working with homebirth midwives that expected me to do my homework. To look up the studies and make my own decisions. That was work – and a wonderful introduction to the challenges of parenting.
Both our families have a history of asthma — so our decisions revolved around that. Breastfeeding until child led weaning (at about 2 years old) for instance. My diet while pregnant did include some fish — omega 3′s are very important for neural development — and yes, included small amounts of sushi, which we eat on a regular basis anyways. A periodic steak done medium, and eggs cooked over medium from a small local farm. We know where most of our food comes from and again that guided our decisions. We chose organic fruits and vegetables and local meats that were produced without hormones or unnatural feeds, including free- range chicken, duck, pork, and beef.
I guess what I am trying to say is that the diet choices are more than just whether or not you eat sushi or less-cooked meats, or even soft cheeses. For us, part of the equation was the choice to consume fewer pesticides and hormones (a big deal here in the Central Valley, CA), and to focus on healthy eating within that framework.
I believe that others may have different priorities, but given the recent links found between pesticides and ADD/ADHD, as well as asthma, this made sense to us after we did our ‘homework’.