Deli meat

babyfever0215 · August 2016

I'm 16 weeks pregnant & food is seriously my worst enemy. Everyday I'm forcing myself to eat otherwise I could go all day w/o ever eating. The one thing I can not stop craving Is deli meat, go figure the one thing I heard your not supposed to eat. If you toast the whole sandwich is it OK? What experience have you ladies had?

PerraSucia · August 2016

I eat deli meat uncooked all the time.

catmommac · August 2016

I've eaten Jimmy Johns a handful of times. I tend to avoid deli meat sandwiches when I don't know when they've been prepared or their temperature (i.e. grab and go sandwiches).

MrsDrKirkpatrick · August 2016

I've had a few ham sandwiches when they were sounding good, but now that the phase has passed I'm skipping the deli meat. Most pregnant people I know have at least a few deli meat meals and are just fine.

MommaBean · August 2016

They say heat the meat to steaming first and then it's fine. Personally, I've had several cold sandwiches over the last few months.

mrslittlemac · August 2016

I have also had Jimmy Johns a few times, but all the home-prepared deli meat sandwiches have been heated thoroughly (think grilled cheese with ham and turkey). Wouldn't trust pre-made sandwiches from grocery or convenience stores though.

varimama · August 2016

The risk is low but it only takes once to get listeria. Personally I don't want to risk it but that's something everyone can decide for themselves. Also as long as the meat is heated to steaming I think you're in the clear.

Starfish113 · August 2016

I've eaten a lot of turkey subs this pregnancy. It's all I crave. I personally wouldn't get cold cuts from the grocery store. But I fresh made deli sandwich I will absolutely do, a few times a week!

Knottie1469010562 · August 2016

I asked my doctor about this and she said not to eat pre made sandwiches but if you make your own and heat the meat to steaming then it's fine.

Starfish113 · August 2016

Listeria comes up in so many things though. Like do we also stay away from fruits and vegetables? And blue bunny ice cream? I just feel like we need to weigh our risks. My OB is pregnant and eats deli meat, and my midwife says no way. So I just choose to be conservative about it.

pennylucille-2 · August 2016

My doc said to stay away from it, so I am just to be safe. I've also been thinking about deli meat sandwiches way more than I ever did now that I cant have them, lol. What I really can't stop thinking about is a Spicy Italian from Subway, haha. As lame as it sounds, that's #1 on my list of things to eat as soon as I'm able to again. I think it's totally fine as long as you heat the meat up, but that's not the way I prefer to eat stuff like that, so it doesn't sound good to me and I haven't bothered.

Gingersnap · August 2016

Starfish113 said:

Listeria comes up in so many things though. Like do we also stay away from fruits and vegetables? And blue bunny ice cream? I just feel like we need to weigh our risks. My OB is pregnant and eats deli meat, and my midwife says no way. So I just choose to be conservative about it.

I'm not eating a single salad.
Safety first.

blush64 · August 2016

I eat deli meat without heating it first, not every day. I still eat veggies and salads. When I was first pregnant there was a big recall on chocolate milk due to listeria. I had drank some from the recalled batch and thankfully nothing happened. It made me realize no matter how good I am about following rules things can happen.

I follow other guidelines that other people choose not to follow. We all just have to be as informed as possible and make the choices we are comfortable with.

skiingstark · August 2016

Yeah I eat my cold cut sandwiches and do not heat them. I am living on the wild side. All the recent cases have been from fruits and vegetables. I cannot find a recent case of someone getting sick from cold cuts. So if we really want to cut the risk of listeria we should stop eating fruits and veggies.

glitterdragon-2 · August 2016

OP don't listen to these speakers of science and reason. You should absolutely NOT eat deli
meat while pregnant. The risk is too
risky. In fact, if at all possible never leave your house. If you have to leave your house take the necessary precaution and cover yourself in bubble wrap first, while continuously washing your hands. If you find yourself wanting pizza, do NOT order pepperoni. Sausage is acceptable, however mushrooms are not. Don't shoot the messenger OP I don't make the rules. Stay safe.

Aussie45 · August 2016

GlitterDragon said:

OP don't listen to these speakers of science and reason. You should absolutely NOT eat deli
meat while pregnant. The risk is too
risky. In fact, if at all possible never leave your house. If you have to leave your house take the necessary precaution and cover yourself in bubble wrap first, while continuously washing your hands. If you find yourself wanting pizza, do NOT order pepperoni. Sausage is acceptable, however mushrooms are not. Don't shoot the messenger OP I don't make the rules. Stay safe.

Woah, we're supposed to be using bubble wrap before leaving the house?

Shit, I've been doing things wrong.

glitterdragon-2 · August 2016

Aussie45 said:

GlitterDragon said:

OP don't listen to these speakers of science and reason. You should absolutely NOT eat deli
meat while pregnant. The risk is too
risky. In fact, if at all possible never leave your house. If you have to leave your house take the necessary precaution and cover yourself in bubble wrap first, while continuously washing your hands. If you find yourself wanting pizza, do NOT order pepperoni. Sausage is acceptable, however mushrooms are not. Don't shoot the messenger OP I don't make the rules. Stay safe.

Woah, we're supposed to be using bubble wrap before leaving the house?

Shit, I've been doing things wrong.

One of these would suffice.

Patience7150 · August 2016

Yeah, I still ride my motorcycle to work at least twice a week. Come at me, Listeria.

For real though OP, there are certain lunch meats I avoid. H loves the Wal-Mart brand lunch meat. That made me cringe pre pregnancy with what it's crawling with. If it's an okay brand and you refrigerated it, the risk is fairly low. If you're eating nothing else and are well into second tri, to me, the benefit of getting proper nutrition would outweigh the risk of Listeria.

expandcontract · August 2016

I like to eat horse meat.

Aussie45 · August 2016

@GlitterDragon Ok, now I know I've been doing things wrong, because that looks fun. I'm picturing the Michelin man but bubble wrap style. Your idea is way better.

L Jane · August 2016

I've always eaten deli meat while pregnant. I usually heat it up, but not always. Whatever you're comfortable with!

hudson1029 · August 2016

I ate deli meat, smoked salmon and sushi during the first tri when that was all I could stomach. Once the morning/all day sickness was over I stopped eating it but my doctor said all the stuff is blown out of proporation and it was all fine. I also made sure I had good quality meat/fish (e.g. applegate farms and only ate sushi at higher end Japanese restaurants I trusted).

yogadevil · August 2016

Listeria and E Coli has been found in: numerous fruits, multiple veggies, flour, ice cream, milk, cold cuts, cheeses, on and on and on.

I feel like if I abided by the lists of foods not to eat I'd be living off prenatal vitamins and ice cubes. Yes, better safe than sorry, however I've personally eaten every food I listed and then some

Gingersnap · August 2016

There's never been listeria in wine or beer.

hispenguin · August 2016

I crave subway sandwiches so I have a turkey sub a couple times a month. I get it toasted, but when I make one at home it's not heated. Right now I'm more likely to get listeria from a salad.

kjd291 · August 2016

as a first time mom: I took the meat and put it in the microwave for 30sec and then once it cooled down made my sandwich.

This time around: I ate more deli meat in the first trimester than the past couple years combined. Turkey and cheese sandwiches were the only thing that sounded appetizing between all the nausea and vomiting.

PerraSucia · August 2016

LC12261012 · August 2016

Team live on the edge and eat unheated deli meat if you want it. That's not a rule/recommendation I follow at all.

MLRocha · August 2016

I just got my week 15 email from Lucie's List and it was all about Deli Meat, Sushi and Kitty Litter... Thought it was pretty interesting. Here's the part on Listeria:

"Listeria Hysteria

Listeria is the big bad bacteria that you want to avoid during pregnancy, mainly because it can cross the placental barrier and infect the fetus, which can result in miscarriage or fetal death.

True, pregnant women are about 20 times more likely to get listeria than the non-pregnant, but EVEN SO, it is EXTREMELY rare, infecting about 50-100 per million for those with a bun in the oven (3 to 5 million without).

~ This is even less likely than your chances of dying in a plane crash (1 in 30,000).

* For comparison's sake, 1 in 84 people die in car crashes.

It should also be noted that most listeria infections in pregnancy occur in the 3rd trimester, when suppression of Th1-mediated immunity is at its maximum.

The highest risk foods for listeria are preserved fish (lox and stuff), cheese from unpasteurized milk, deli meats, pate (pa-TAAAAAY), and under cooked hot dogs. Stuff like that.

Bottom line: With those kinds of odds, you should worry more about your driving and less about your turkey sandwich."

MrsP052909 · August 2016

Now I want a sandwich.

Kaylea31 · August 2016

I told my doc that I was bummed about having to cut back on sausage and bacon. He said his wife wanted deli meat the whole time she was pregnant so she just went for it. lol.
I was also told at the doctor that you can ask them to microwave the meat then get your sandwich toasted and you should be good to go!

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