OB with more laid back approach to food restrictions

doknow · May 2014

Posting this here rather than my birth month board, with the hopes of not getting pounded on too much.

My OB is more laid back about food restrictions and I was wondering if anyone else here also has that. He said that there's no problem with me eating sushi and smoked fish, as long as it looks fresh and good. (And if it doesn't look good, then I shouldn't be eating it even if I wasn't pregnant!) He said that women in Japan eat sushi while pregnant and nothing happens, and that fish in general is something good to eat.

harmonicbabe26 · May 2014

I'll tell you this. i had DD in Switzerland and when I asked my OB there about eating lunch meat he said he'd never heard about that being a no no. BUT he strongly cautioned me agains sandwiches with fresh veg and lettuce.

I think it all depends on the doc and such. Just like you said - if all women in Japan were told to quit sushi while prego then... well you know... silly...

Personally what makes most sense to me is what your doc said: if you had concerns about a source of food before you were prego I would avoid it whether prego or not. But if your source is high quality and reputable then you will be just fine.

I have had raw fish sushi while pregnant and I eat cold cuts almost daily as this is the only type of meat I can stomach...

moroccojade · May 2014

One myth I need to put aside... that Japanese people eat a lot of sushi. I lived there almost a year and honestly, they are not packing it in every day - very few would even have it even once a month. I bet most families only have it a few times a year at the most. Lots never even eat it at all. It is really expensive -- even where I lived, right on the sea. (Curry on the other hand, they eat a lot of. And ramen, udon and soba. And grilled fish and seafood. Fried chicken and pork. Now I am hungry...)

But with that said... The thing with raw fish is parasites. But if you choose cooked rolls... or even raw sushi and sashimi from somewhere reputable you should be fine.

ConversationFear · May 2014

My OB is laid back too. It's one of the reasons I like her - she's not an alarmist at all.

When I asked her about certain foods, she did advise against big predatory fish like shark and swordfish. She said to make sure all cheese were pasteurized or heated to bubbling and that any lunchmeat or mayo-based items were fresh, not sitting out, like at a graduation party buffet in the sun for 4 hours. She suggested cooking ground beef all the way, but other than that - not much.

She never said anything about sushi - but I didn't ask because I don't eat it.

dragonfly711 · May 2014

My Dr never told me anything to avoid. I just avoided stuff because of what I have heard like soda, caffeine. I did not give up chocolate!!!

Cold cuts, I cut back do not have them much, i just bought some today actually. Moderation is key. I do not like fish so dont have to worry about that lol

My meat I like well done, and any cold cuts I make sure they are fresh and not sitting out for a long time.

danieleandwayne · May 2014

French women eat sushi, drink wine, eat unpasteurized cheese, etc. all throughout their pregnancies. Granted, in Europe the food is less chemical-laden and they use other anti-parasite/bacterial controls as well as sourcing more local foods so that food is fresher and quicker to the table. But the principal is basically the same-- just don't eat unclean or spoiled food. And avoid nitrites/nitrates unless you drink orange juice beforehand to neutralize the nitrites from becoming carcinogenic in your belly and crossing the placenta. :-)

doknow · May 2014

Thanks! I tend to shy away from food with lots of preservatives anyway because I've had bad reactions to preservatives.

2ndGeneration · May 2014

I eat lunchmeat, I don't really worry about that, but I don't eat fish sushi (veg sushi is fine) only because I don't know how that fish was handled before it got to the restaurant.

MrsL2B · May 2014

That's so very different from my OB practice, where they told me not to eat any soft cheeses, even cream cheese! I found no research baking that up and decided that my doctors are nuts. Way too many foods that are on the "safe" list have been recalled due to contamination, so I just try to stay current with the FDA alerts.

doknow · June 2014

Part of the reason I like my OB is that he is not a fear mongerer. For about a year I had a primary care physician who was that way, and it drove me up the wall. She claimed that I had high blood pressure even though no other doctor in my life has ever found that to be the case. (Also, nobody in my immediate family has high blood pressure.) I worry enough on my own, I don't need someone else adding to it!

path75 · June 2014

My doc had all the basic restrictions and said to cook lunch meat and hotdogs. But she was really hounding me to eat smaller frequent meals, like a piece of toast and peanut butter as one meal. She said to eat every two hours like that. Also said to avoid juices which surprised me. She said eat whole fruit. Uggh

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