food during pregnancy. what's your guilty secret?

A

aussiegal

Registered User
Hi everyone, just thought I'd find out how strict (or not) everyone is with their eating. Are you avoiding soft cheeses, raw fish etc? If you are pregnant for the second or third time did you go a bit easier on the restrictions? And what about junk food?

I'm pregnant with my second and have definitely eased off a little. The first time round I wouldn't touch anything on the naughty list. I have a friend who is a midwife and is pregnant with her second child. She is eating oysters (natural) and anything else she wants. She says that the chance of anything happening is so miniscule she's not worried. Her husband is a doctor and he agrees.

I'm craving raw salmon and sushi BAD!!!!!!!
 
this is my second pregnancy and I'm no where near as strict this time. I've eaten smoked salmon, pate, lobster, dippy eggs.....and a glass of Guinness most evenings (full of iron!).
 
if you think about it, Japanese eat sushi ALL THE TIME, even when preggers. so, second time round i ate a little of it.

as a matter of fact...the second time round i ate anything and everything that i wanted, without guilt.

i figured that i'd never in my life gotten sick eating a sandwich made with cold cuts, so what would the difference be when pregnant.
 
Eating during pregnancy

I had my second child last September and I was craving sushi really badly throughout both pregnancies but didn't touch any until the last 4 weeks of my second pregnancy. I think as long as you buy food from reputable places and don't eat it every day, you should allow yourself some indulgences. It's hard enough being pregnant without having to crave something and not be able to eat it!
 
I love Guinness but have only had a couple of sips this pregnancy. A couple of gulps of any alcohol and I feel like my legs are going numb when I'm pregnant. I'm really looking forward to some serious drinking! I'll have had two kids in 16 months and that's one thing I'm hanging out for.

As for Sushi etc that's what I thought. If Japanese women eat it why can't I. I think I'll have some tonight..

Ham, italian sausage and cold meats. Yum. I had a tiny taste of ham at christmas but apart from that I've resisted.

Wish I could say the same about chocolate!
 
Japanese Women and Sushi

Actually, I'm not trying to be a party pooper here but most Japanese women avoid eating raw foods when they are pregnant (according to a news report that I saw).

On another topic... I was a text-book case according to Chinese theories because I craved sour acidic things when I was carrying my son and sweet things when I had my daughter - anyone else experience this?

Aussiegal, we are in the same boat because my children are only 15 months apart!
 
well, one of my closesst friends is married to a japanese man. they lived in japan for 12 years and when she went back when she was preggers all of her japanes friends looked at her like she was nuts when she told them she couldn't have sushi....
 
I did not touch pork as hated the smell but had lots of watermelon, sushi (almost weekly), beef, shrimps, spicy food -- everything our Chinese parents told us not to have.

The only thing I loved but stayed away was oysters as fear of contamination, alcohol and of course cigi. Not one smoke since pregnant.
 
Diet Coke, definitely. Sometimes with caffeine and sometimes without. My Dr in the US said the sweetener it has, aspartame, is ok in moderation but I have a good friend that's a nurse that won't touch anything with artificial sweeteners when pregnant. She said they lead to autism. I tried to not drink any Diet Coke at all but was really really miserable. So I have one a day or one every few days.
 
Awhitman, I craved savoury with my first and had a boy and I'm craving sweets this time round and have a feeling I'm having a girl so we'll see!

I could go a great big vanilla slice and white coffee (flat white, Australian style) right now.
 
Actually, I really craved sushi when I was pregnant with my first child. I have a Japanese lady friend and I asked her specifically if Japanese women eat raw fish while pregnant. She said Japanese women avoid eating raw fish while pregnant and even when they are breast feeding their babies...

Also, I really missed my bubbly drinks, so instead of having a coke or cream soda, I mixed Perrier/carbonated water with juice - I used to mix calcium added Tropicana OJ with carbonated water.
 
I was pretty strict at the beginning of pregnancy and avoided everything! By the time I got to my 3rd trimester I started to relax a little.
Unfortunatley, on a trip to Paris, I started to indulge in afew things that I had missed, snails, cheese ( in very tiny quantities ).
I'm not sure what it was that made me sick, but I spent a whole night on the floor of the bathroom throwing my heart up, and terrified that I'd done something really stupid.

Pretty scary being in a foreign city wondering where the nearest hospital is, and convinced that you'd hurt your baby for a few pieces of food.

My baby was fine, thankfully.

I admit towards the end of pregnancy I couldn't get enough junk food. I needed chocolate and coke once a day!
 
yeah, I was pretty relaxed until I got a shocking case of food poisoning in early pregnancy from eating vietnamese delivery with seafood in it... Of course, it could have happened with the most cautious choices, but after that I wanted to stay on the safe side.
 
Lemon Coke, never drank with first pregnancy..this time, about 1-2 cans per week...I've always like spicy food, i cut it last time..but this time i'm still eating..yummy

interesting that most of us crave for sushi, but i'm still holding off on them
 
I haven't been "avoiding" foods in particular. I never eat sushi anyway (don't really care for it), and I don't drink alcohol or caffeine anyway either. So that hasn't been hard for me. Once in awhile I do crave a good sandwhich w/ deli meats and cheeses, but it's a rare occurance, so I don't think it's a big deal. Last night we went out to a big Chinese dinner for dh's grandma's birthday and they served shark fin soup. I've sworn off it for other reasons but when everyone asked why I wasn't eating it, dh played the pregnancy card.

As for other snacks, though, (chips, cookies, chocolate, ice cream etc), I need to do better. I'm still doing ok w/ weight gain, though I'm very surprised because I've been eating so much junk. (Hello, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Chinese New Year... I never get a break! lol) The last week or so I've really been trying to cut back the sweets and eat more veggies.

As for the cravings, I haven't had the "text book" cravings, I guess. W/ my dd I craved salty and sweet, and this time around I'm finding the same thing. Some days all I want is a big bag of doritos, and some days all I want is a bunch of chocolate or ice cream. :) (we don't know the gender this time around.)
 
Hihi, may I know why pregnant woman cannot take softcheese? I only know that pregnant woman can't take crab, spicy food, mutton, watermelon, mango etc
 
why not "crab, spicy food, mutton, watermelon, mango "?

i ate loads of watermelon and spicy food when i was preggers!
granted by the end of the pregnancy, the indigestion was so bad, i couldn't eat anything spicy. but i ate it right up to about 7 months! if i liked mutton, i would have eaten that too... just can't stand it though...same for mango.

as for the soft cheeses, it's because of a bacteria that can grow on them and cause problems for pregnant ladies. but again, that said, i still ate my feta cheese!


i think that the difference is cultural. i know taht according to chinese, there are loads of things you shouldn't eat during pregnancy that dont necessarily have a medical reason behind them. most things westerners don't eat have medical reasons behind them.
 
I just feel like eating all that my mother cooked when I was little. I guess that is comfort food for me these days. Just love junk food as well (though I try to eat less of it). Have been craving butter chiken a lot. I have always liked it, but these days when I think of chicken I think butter chicken. :) I guess my body needs more protein.

A question......why is it not ok to eat papaya? It is wonderful source of vitamins and keeps you regular as well. I hear some ladies saying that they had it during their pregnancy, some say only during a part of their pregnancy and some don't have it at all.
 
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