The "is it safe" advice from various sources - are you limiting yourself THAT much?

abbyful

DH & I are in the early stages of TTC. Ditched birthcontrol, but not charting or doing ovulation tests.

I've been reading a lot of information about what is and isn't safe during pregnancy. Some if it I know I will follow (no raw fish, no deli meat which I don't eat anyway), but some of it sounds a little odd. Like only eating eggs where the yolk is completely cooked hard, so no over-easy or sunny-side-up eggs. And then some sources contridict each other, such as raspberry leaf tea, some sources say it's great others say to avoid. Or flax seed is the same way, some sources say it increases fertility, some say it decreases. 

How strictly did you follow the "food to avoid" recommendations while TTC/pregnant?

TeacherVicky

All I've stopped myself from having during this pregnancy is alcohol, green tea and sushi. I've been eating lunch meat, soft cheeses, eggs, creamy salad dressings, etc.

To address your egg comment, eggs sold at the grocery store are pasteurized. I have eaten runny eggs (runny yolk), but I always make sure the egg white is cooked through. Pasteurized is the key word and unless you are buying fresh eggs from a farm, they will be pasteurized.

Same with soft cheeses. Most soft cheeses sold in stores is made from pasteurized milk. You can always check the label to make sure.

Also, sushi is something you can eat if you go to a reputable (re clean) place and limit the amount of tuna you eat (due to high mercury). You can also limit yourself to rolls if you don't want to go the raw fish route. I just haven't had sushi because I know I won't be able to go to a sushi restaurant and control myself.

ETA: I've heard that raspberry leaf tea is good to regular your menstrual cycle (lengthen your luteal phase I believe). I never took it though. I've also never heard anything about flax seed being bad.

SassyPants150

I think the key is to avoid but not to obsess.  Many of the foods that you are supposed to avoid, are only listed because they may cause a problem.  Deli meats may cause listeria.  The actual cases of listeria are small, much less the number of pregnant women who contract it. 

I am allergic to regular fish other than shell fish, so I have no problem in avoiding the higher mercury fishes.  But, I have had sushi that contained fried shrimp. 

Caffeine in moderation...exactly that.  Moderation.  

Don't obsess too much over what to eat/not eat.  Just be aware of what is out there and how to prevent it.

 

MesmrEwe

Actually - not all eggs at the grocery store are pasteurized.  You have to watch the label and for the most part they aren't (Pasteurized eggs are sold in a sealed container with "Pasteurized" right on them and about twice the price - which isn't a bad thing because there is a time/place for them and I do purchase them whenever I'm making something that is being served to the masses).  That said, I still enjoy my runny eggs because I'm a food manager and everything I purchase has been sourced and I am hypervigilent about making sure that they're properly kept along with assessment of risk.  In the US where we have some of the strictest food safety codes out there (other countries laugh at us for putting our eggs in the fridge!), I have to say I'm more concerned about organic lettuce/veggies than I am about eggs. 

From there, I avoid raw fish sushi...  Fish is actually healthy for you during PG in moderation, but that's the thing with ALL foods regardless of being PG or not, MODERATION!  Then again, I wouldn't eat raw fish even if I wasn't PG...  But, smoked fish, imitation crab, cooked shrimp shouldn't be big issues.

And as for soft cheeses, as long as they're pasteurized (which most are in the US), no big deal there as well.

Above all else, if it's not healthy for you before you get pregnant, it isn't healthy for you while you're pregnant.  Alcohol is the major exception given there is still a lot unknown about fetal alcohol syndrome, but when it comes to everything else, MODERATION, and proper food safety/handling is key...

abbyful

TeacherVicky:

ETA: I've heard that raspberry leaf tea is good to regular your menstrual cycle (lengthen your luteal phase I believe). I never took it though. I've also never heard anything about flax seed being bad.

Avoiding raspberry leaf tea is something I beleive I read in "What to Expect Before You're Expecting", I don't have to book with me at the moment, perhaps it was only in early pregnancy because I've also read to drink it in the weeks leading up to your due date. 

Flax is something I know many dog breeders avoid (it's in some dog foods and dog supplements) because they found many times breedings don't "take" while the dog is eating flax. I know we are humans, not dogs, but March of Dimes recommends avoiding flax because of hindered fertility/breeding in animal tests.

blu-eyedwife

While TTC I didn't avoid anything.  You don't start passing things on to the baby for a couple weeks after you're even pregnant anyway so I wasn't going to limit my life while trying to get pregnant. 

Once pregnant I've really only avoided alcohol.  I've never been a caffeine drinker and I don't like fish so I wasn't going to worry about that, and I don't eat deli meal because of the sodium and preservatives anyway.

As pp said, the source of eggs is more important than pasteurization.  Just think, ALL the egg recalls were from grocery store eggs.  I have never had an issue with the eggs I get from a local farm.  And frankly, I honestly don't think people realize how raw eggs are in almost everything you're eating anyway (like that ice cream you love so much? Or noodles/spaghetti/pasta - the dough is made with raw egg and then (gasp) not cooked), or even your favorite creamy salad dressing).

And there was no way I was giving up unpasteurized cheese.

Joie80

I didn't avoid anything while TTC. Since my BFP, I have followed all of my doctor's and nutritionist's recommendations. GL!

genekelly

We tried for 3 yrs before getting pregnant.  1st year I followed the recs like no caffeine(or limited) and no alcohol(b/c supposedly decreases fertility) but I did not limit exercise or other foods.  2nd year I added both back in but not during the 2ww and 3rd year I said "eff it, this ain't happening and I'm just going to do what I want".   Don't make yourself crazy at the start is my advice.  While pregnant, I did avoid lunchmeat, runny eggs and sushi(wasn't worth any risk after 3 yrs!) but ate all the soft cheese I wanted since most of the stuff in the US is pasteurized! 

ThelovelyMrsH

I didn't change anything while I was TTC. I never knew when I was going to get pregnant so I didn't care to alter my life on a what if. After getting pregnant, the only thing I have eliminated is alcohol. I still eat deli meat, soft cheeses, have a cup of coffee every other day (was never a huge coffee drinker beforehand). I would eat eggs, but that's been the one thing that completely grosses me out since being pregnant... and I used to eat eggs a lot!