What CAN'T you eat/drink when pregnant?

I know raw seafood and cold cuts, but now I have been reading about no pineapple and blue cheese!! Why not pineapple? Does that include blue cheese dressing? I avoid drinking coffee, tea, and soda, but do I have to give up chocolate too since it contains caffeine???????? TIA!

Re: What CAN'T you eat/drink when pregnant?

Pineapple? That's a new one. I have never heard that.

I don't eat unpasteurized cheeses. That's it. Nearly ALL of the blue cheese and feta sold in the US and used in restaurants is made with pasteurized milk, and is perfectly safe. That applies to blue cheese dressing as well.

I drink coffee and soda all the time. I try to avoid diet soda b/c of the artificial sweetener but I do have it occasionally. I dare ANYONE to try and take away my chocolate There is very little caffeine in that anyway.

I eat raw sushi, tuna fish, hot dogs, drink wine and beer (very occasionally), and cold cuts, and everything else you're not "supposed" to have. IMO, everything in moderation, but everyone feels differently about that. There is nothing wrong with being more cautious if it makes you feel comfortable!

Message edited 2/26/2010 9:39:09 PM.

Re: What CAN'T you eat/drink when pregnant?

Um, I eat everything on that list except for the raw seafood. I think I would die if I had to give up chocolate!

Re: What CAN'T you eat/drink when pregnant?

it depends who you ask, but I think you'll really understand what you shouldn't eat, if you know why.

Caffeine: in large amounts has been shown to cause miscarriage in the first trimester. The equivalent of caffeine in 1 cup of coffee a day, is safe. Chocolate have very little caffeine, I wouldn't worry about it.

Caffiene content in Foods

Raw Fish and Deli meats and any kind of protein can have the potential to carry the bacteria Listeria. So to be 100% safe you want to make sure everything is fully cooked before you eat it. When your not pregnant, your body can handle small amounts of Listeria with no problem, but its especially dangerous to you and unborn baby.

Cheese: Just watch out for unpasteurized cheese. I don't think you have any chance of running into it, unless you have access to someone who is milking their own cows and making cheese from it. Unpasteurized Milk has potential to carry many different kinds of bacteria.

Also fish, you want to watch out for too much mercury. I would only worry if you eat a lot of fish. Here is a great list of how much of what is safe to eat.

Here is my favorite list for mercury levels in fish:
http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancyhealth/fishmercury.htm

Pineapple
wow just google it, but beware none of the websites that come up seem very credible.

Message edited 2/26/2010 10:03:03 PM.

Re: What CAN'T you eat/drink when pregnant?

sushi, cold cuts, alochol, non -pasturized cheeses, soft ice cream, limited hot dogs and bacon..thats about all for me...

Re: What CAN'T you eat/drink when pregnant?

My doctor really focused on the seafood and the unpasteurized cheeses. But otherwise didn't say much else.

I did drink soda throughout the pregnancy (though tried to limit it to one per day) part because water and juice made me feel sick, especially in the beginning. I've since tried to limit it to only a few times a week.

I also ate soft ice cream approximately once a week as a treat. My doctor had never mentioned it to me but I had heard that one from friends.

Re: What CAN'T you eat/drink when pregnant?

Posted by headoverheels

Pineapple? That's a new one. I have never heard that.

I don't eat unpasteurized cheeses. That's it. Nearly ALL of the blue cheese and feta sold in the US and used in restaurants is made with pasteurized milk, and is perfectly safe. That applies to blue cheese dressing as well.

I drink coffee and soda all the time. I try to avoid diet soda b/c of the artificial sweetener but I do have it occasionally. I dare ANYONE to try and take away my chocolate There is very little caffeine in that anyway.

I eat raw sushi, tuna fish, hot dogs, drink wine and beer (very occasionally), and cold cuts, and everything else you're not "supposed" to have. IMO, everything in moderation, but everyone feels differently about that. There is nothing wrong with being more cautious if it makes you feel comfortable!

Re: What CAN'T you eat/drink when pregnant?

Posted by mrskparetta

Posted by headoverheels

Pineapple? That's a new one. I have never heard that.

I don't eat unpasteurized cheeses. That's it. Nearly ALL of the blue cheese and feta sold in the US and used in restaurants is made with pasteurized milk, and is perfectly safe. That applies to blue cheese dressing as well.

I drink coffee and soda all the time. I try to avoid diet soda b/c of the artificial sweetener but I do have it occasionally. I dare ANYONE to try and take away my chocolate There is very little caffeine in that anyway.

I eat raw sushi, tuna fish, hot dogs, drink wine and beer (very occasionally), and cold cuts, and everything else you're not "supposed" to have. IMO, everything in moderation, but everyone feels differently about that. There is nothing wrong with being more cautious if it makes you feel comfortable!

ditto to EVERYTHING she said its all about your own personal comfort levels. everything in moderation

Re: What CAN'T you eat/drink when pregnant?

Posted by Helene718

Um, I eat everything on that list except for the raw seafood. I think I would die if I had to give up chocolate!

Re: What CAN'T you eat/drink when pregnant?

Posted by Katie111806

Posted by mrskparetta

Posted by headoverheels

Pineapple? That's a new one. I have never heard that.

I don't eat unpasteurized cheeses. That's it. Nearly ALL of the blue cheese and feta sold in the US and used in restaurants is made with pasteurized milk, and is perfectly safe. That applies to blue cheese dressing as well.

I drink coffee and soda all the time. I try to avoid diet soda b/c of the artificial sweetener but I do have it occasionally. I dare ANYONE to try and take away my chocolate There is very little caffeine in that anyway.

I eat raw sushi, tuna fish, hot dogs, drink wine and beer (very occasionally), and cold cuts, and everything else you're not "supposed" to have. IMO, everything in moderation, but everyone feels differently about that. There is nothing wrong with being more cautious if it makes you feel comfortable!

ditto to EVERYTHING she said its all about your own personal comfort levels. everything in moderation

Same here, except for the seafood (but that's only bc I don't like it, not bc I 'can't' have it). Everything in moderation works for me.

Re: What CAN'T you eat/drink when pregnant?

My doctor told me everything in moderation. He did stress about staying away from unpasteurized cheese.

I don't eat seafood because I never liked it pre preggo. I don't eat hotdogs because they make me swell like a balloon.

I don't drink any alcohol at all.

Everything else I do in moderation.

Message edited 2/27/2010 9:31:44 AM.

Re: What CAN'T you eat/drink when pregnant?

Pineapple has levels of a chemical in it that can cause to you start contracting (and possibly miscarry). It's unclear how much pineapple one has to eat: I eat only 1 piece occasionally.

No papaya, and some other types of fruits as well because of bacteria that they can carry.

You should look at the levels of caffeine. A little (like chocolate, hot chocolate, decaf coffee) is OK. Be REALLY careful with herbal tea because half of the stuff that's in there can induce contractions as well (I stick to lemon, mint, ect. which has fewer ingredients) With soda, I started drinking root beer (there are good varieties w/o caffeine)

Be really careful of "house dressing"... my SIL had told me (and I confirmed) that many of them have raw egg in there.

I like the idea of everything in moderation, but it was so hard to get pregnant for me (and I know some others, I'm not taking a chance).

There is an iphone app that you can get that will tell you about everything.

Re: What CAN'T you eat/drink when pregnant?

I think everyone is different, as is every doctor-

LIke my doctor told me, tuna once a week is fine, but not two cans and every day

I do think everything in moderation is fine. I recently saw a bumped post about the lysteria so I have not eaten cold cuts anymore...

But again, personal preference :)

Re: What CAN'T you eat/drink when pregnant?

I was told that you would have to consume a pound of chocolate to have any effect. Apparently, baby's do not like chocolate...That is at least what the LC told me at my BF class.

Re: What CAN'T you eat/drink when pregnant?

Re: What CAN'T you eat/drink when pregnant?

never heard about pinapple but did hear something about papayas. Don't give up chocolate!!! I didn't with my 1st PG!

Re: What CAN'T you eat/drink when pregnant?

A lot of ladies say that everything in moderation is fine. I think a lot of it has to do with what you feel comfortable with. I was told, by my ob, to stay away from cold cuts (because of listeria) and unpasterized cheese. I also got a handout about fish that explains what type is safe to eat and how often it's safe to eat it. That's what I use as my guideline!

Re: What CAN'T you eat/drink when pregnant?

my doctor just told me not to eat three things

raw fish
raw meat
unpasteurized cheeses

Re: What CAN'T you eat/drink when pregnant?

What's wrong with soft serve ice cream??

Re: What CAN'T you eat/drink when pregnant?

My doctor had told me to stay away from soft serve ice cream and fountain drinks because *most* places do no clean them out on a daily basis. The bacteria can be harmful to the baby (same concept as listeria).