Upon getting pregnant, somebody should present you with a golden list of no-no's. But alas, they don't and you usually find out that you've eaten or used something you shouldn't have after the fact!
Here are some fun ones I found out about:
Food
- Honey - some say it's fine to eat while pregnant, but not fine to eat while breastfeeding and universally forbidden for children under the age of 1 (unique type of botchulism)
- brie, camembert, mexican queso, goat cheese - basically anything soft and white is suspect, also no bleu or moldy cheeses
- hot dogs
- cold cuts unless warmed to steaming (listeriosis)
- soft serve ice cream and yogurt (haven for Listeria)
- sushi, raw shellfish or any shellfish if you or spouse have allergies in your family
- tuna and a couple of other fish like shark, marlin, swordfish (high mercury content due to age and size of fish)
- wine and alcohol, of course
- caffeine - coffee, tea, green tea
- ginseng, echnicacea and almost all types of herbal supplements - many stimulate contractions
- a couple of herbal teas, black cohosh, among them
- peanut butter (experts are split)
- soy products (controversial)
- pate
- liver
Medications
- Benzoyl Peroxide (experts are split)
- all topical acne medication, retina, fade creams
- Ritalin
- psychiatric medications
- ASPIRIN!
- vitamin a supplements
Ill-advised Activities
- Hot baths or jacuzzi
- High temperatures for any reason, especially w/in first trimester (linked to lower birth weight and IQ)
- standing in front of the microwave (questionable)
- breathing in secondhand smoke
- avoid high altitudes
- high risk of falling activities like horseback riding, waterskiing, rollerblading
- amusement park roller coasters
- changing kitty litter
Wow. I didn't know the world was so dangerous! Peanut butter? Really? They can't seem to decide if early exposure causes peanut allergy or not, so to be safe, I just avoid it even though it was one of my favorite, safest food the 2nd week of my pregnancy (technically week 4).
Mostly, my food habits haven't changed so much, other than being a slave to cravings, but the cheese thing has been harder to live with. I pass the cheese counter, gazingly lovingly, wondering how many weeks until I can eat it again. Well, it's 28 weeks and some change until my next Brie sandwich or greek salad!
It's weird going out with friends and family, trying to not order questionable things while simultaneously not tipping them off to why. Everyone is skeptical. If these things were so bad for pregnant women, wouldn't we know it? So obviously, I'm just a paranoid nelly, making it up. I read it several books folks! And although I don't believe everything I read, and I know that people who don't know eat these things and give birth to healthy babies everyday, you wouldn't risk it if you knew. Ignorance is bliss, and being a grown woman with a lot of time on my hands, I have significantly less bliss than some. I may have had one week with cold cuts where I didn't know, but I started reading early and all the goodies got taken away.
Talk to you soon. I need to go figure out what I'm not eating for dinner.
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