eating during pregnancy

[colly1]

can anyone help? please can you tell me what you are not allowed to eat during pregnany and if its for the full nine months or only the first three months

[Ragingwhisky]

im pretty sure eating babies is a bad move

[Jules001]

you shouldn't eat raw eggs or unpasteurised milk which includes cheese for the full nine months as far as I can remember, and more recently they say you shouldn't eat liver in the first 3 months as it has too much Vitamin A? . I seem to remember something about eating fish in moderation, but can't be precise on the details.

[enigma]

You should avoid liver and pate as they both contain high levels of Vitamin A which can be harmful to the foetus , raw or soft boiled eggs as they can contain traces of salmonella or listeria , nuts as there has been evidence to suggest that there is a risk that it could cause a severe allergic reaction to nuts later on for the child , alcohol , drugs and of course you should always ensure that you wash all fruit and veg thoroughly before eating it as traces of soil can contain levels of toxoplasmosis which can be  extremely to the foetus. Similarly , you should take care when dealing with animals , emptying cat litter etc for the same reason. These precautions should be taken for the full duration of the pregnancy - not just the first three months. If you go to www.patient.co.uk/showdoc.asp?doc=27000508 you will get information about the do's and don'ts of pregnancy. Your local health centre should also be able to give you leaflets regarding healthy eating during pregnancy and don't forget to ask for the Emma's diary and Bounty publications as they contain very useful hints for pregnancy and are both a week by week guide to everything which you will experience in pregnancy. They also have claim cards for free sample packs from Boots and Mothercare which is invaluable for every mum to be in helping to stock your little baby box. Hope that this helps x

[colly1]

keep the info comming i am very grateful                               

thankyou

colly                                                          

[Philtaz]

Prawns should be avoided as much as possible.

[AB Editor]

For all medical questions, we strongly advise you to seek professional advice from your doctor or a healthcare professional.  Please do not rely on, or wait for, advice from Answerbank users.

[jills]

tuna should be limited due to possible mercury levels.   Ditto shark meat (tho how many folk eat that regularly in UK I'm not sure!). Home made coleslaws or mayos etc (which may be unpasturised), blue cheeses, definitely peanuts. Alcohol is best to be avoided, (ditto obviously smoking).  Check out Enigmas advice re websites.....and at your first antenatal check, they should gvie you loads of bumpf on what to do, what not to do etc. Up here in Scotland we get a book called Ready Steady Baby which was pretty good for all this basic info.

[Jamie Lewis]

Bloddy hell it sounds like when you get pregnant you virtually have to starve yourself to death. I understand now why women get cravings for things like tar - it's about the only thing you can eat!

[mumma]

Re Cat litter.  My baby is 9 months and I still have my husband convinced that I can't go within yards of the litter tray because I'm breastfeeding!!  It's great!!

[Bangkok]

There is a huge debate about alcohol.  Some say none at all, others say an occasional glass helps relaxation, which is good for their bump. 

Anything that is more likely to make you sick (as mentioned above, shellfish, raw eggs etc). 

Mumsnet.com has some good advice and chat threads.

[Hgrove]

There is a book entitled "What to eat when you're expecting" in case you are interested.  I think you can get it from the main bookshops.

[Phantaxus]

My wife is now at 10 weeks and as a quick guide remember Raw, Blue, Salmonella, Lysteria

the blue bit is for mouldy cheeses

[jills]

Jamie Lewis...you couldn't be more wrong.  You can eat LOADS during pregnancy.  Although excessive weight gain is bad, and not to be encouraged, I ate so much fruit and veg, drank pints of milk a day, treated myself to chocolate (NB colly1....chocolate is good as it makes mummy happy (chemicals like those released during sex) and so makes a happy baby...so it's your duty to eat some choccies now and then!!).   You're going to pile on soem weight anyway, so it's pointless even worrying abtou your figure...relax adn enjoy your nine months of waist free living.  I did, it was fantastic and everyone said I blossomed.  12 months later, I'm back to pre baby weight (with no dieting etc at all) and ready to start all over again. I'm lookign forward to pregnancy No. 2 already!!

[secretspirit]

Sorry to gatecrash your post colly1, just wanted to say to Jills that it's inspiring to hear what you've said. I was worrying about putting on too much weight (er, I have indulged a tad in excess sweets and chocolate) but you've convinced me that I can get back to normal afterwards! Although I will try not to eat too much extra over the remaining 25 weeks.

[Lorri]

I've read quite a few mags and books and, from what I can gather, you can't eat blue cheeses, much tuna, liver, pate, mr whippy type icecream, peanuts, raw or soft eggs and you are now advised to try and avoid any alcohol, oh, and smoking - all for the whole nine months.  Once I've had my baby I'm going to get drunk and eat loads of boiled egg and soldiers!  Hmmmm - can't wait!