Is it true? I should avoid cold drinks during pregnancy?

Most things that are "wrong" with babies at birth are due to genetics and would be the case regardless of what the mother did during pregnancy. It's set in stone at conception, before the mother even knows she's pregnant. There is nothing that a mother can do to control that. There are some things like fetal alcohol syndrome that are caused by the mother drinking excessively while pregnant - but apart from that, the mother's actions and choices have a small influence on the outcome of the pregnancy. Babies are VERY safe in there and it generally takes HUGE events to impact them at all.

I was advised by my first obgyn in my first pregnancy that sushi etc was very safe while pregnant. He put it this way: "The risk of getting food poisoning from such foods is the same regardless of whether you are pregnant or not. The only difference is that if you do get food poisoning, it MAY affect the baby. How often have you ever had food poisoning from such foods? (never) - so why would you expect it when you are pregnant?" - He did advise to eat sushi from reputable restaurants and not from the deli section of Park n Shop though ;)

When my 2nd daughter was born with dwarfism, I never for a moment thought that it was something that I had done - I know how genetics works and I could have done everything right and it'd still be in her genes. My mother-in-law on the other hand (Chinese) wanted something to "blame" at first and asked what I did wrong, if it was the flu shot I'd received after she told me not to get the flu shot, if it was something else I did... such attitudes are completely ignorant and have no positive outcome.
 
nicolejoy said:
....My mother-in-law on the other hand (Chinese) wanted something to "blame" at first and asked what I did wrong, if it was the flu shot I'd received after she told me not to get the flu shot, if it was something else I did... such attitudes are completely ignorant and have no positive outcome.
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I enjoy poking fun and taking the piss out of ignorant people. If I was that situation I would have told the MIL that I slept with a suitcase of scissors and knives under the bed. Now that the birth is over, would she like a few to take home with her?
 
I think scientific research regarding what is safe to consume during pregnancy should not depend on culture or country. If you plan to bring a human being into this world, you have to be responsible and keep them safe by avoiding food that might run the risk of giving you food poisoning. As found on the americanpregnancy web site, some foods may cause listeria which may lead to miscarriage. Some foods may cause developmental delays and brain damage. I don't think this should be taken lightly.
 
sharrie_t said:
I think scientific research regarding what is safe to consume during pregnancy should not depend on culture or country. If you plan to bring a human being into this world, you have to be responsible and keep them safe by avoiding food that might run the risk of giving you food poisoning. As found on the americanpregnancy web site, some foods may cause listeria which may lead to miscarriage. Some foods may cause developmental delays and brain damage. I don't think this should be taken lightly.
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I agree with sharri
 
It is human nature to have a bias towards home country and information from sources we are comfortable with and trust. It was a real eye-opener for me in our (quite multi-cultural) ante-natal class to see the wide variety of advice and recommendations from different countries - much of it conflicting.

I am quite sure the hundreds of thousands of mothers who give birth in Japan every year feel safe eating sushi and seafish (as well as raw eggs), similar numbers in S.E. Asia eat tropical fruit throughout their pregnancy and that many French mothers eat cheese quite happily, much of it unpasteurised.

I wouldn't discourage anyone from following advice from reputable agencies they feel comfortable with. I am also quite aware how little we still know about our bodies work, and how frequently medical advice changes.

If we consider food poisoning specifically, I know I've had food poisoning three times in the five years I have lived in Hong Kong - and never anywhere else in the world. Maybe the safest option is to live somewhere with better hygiene standards than here!
 
i am english and my husband is chinese, and his family drove me mad when i was pregnant! They said not to drink coke because it would make the baby's skin dark, and his mother insisted that we should not 'lie together' (have sex) during pregnancy because the baby would have black spots on it's head! My baby actually had cradle cap until she was about 1 1/2, and every time my MIL saw it she gave me dirty looks!
 
sharrie_t said:
I think scientific research regarding what is safe to consume during pregnancy should not depend on culture or country. If you plan to bring a human being into this world, you have to be responsible and keep them safe by avoiding food that might run the risk of giving you food poisoning.
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Practically every food can give you food poisoning.
Remember the cucumber problems of just a few months ago in Europe? What about the spinach and peanut butter problems in USA? Should we give up every food because there might be a risk?
As found on the americanpregnancy web site, some foods may cause listeria which may lead to miscarriage. Some foods may cause developmental delays and brain damage. I don't think this should be taken lightly.
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Driving a car or riding in one during pregnancy may cause accidents. I dont think this should be taken lightly.
Better safe than sorry so lets lock up all pregnant woman in case they get into an accident.
 
This discussion is getting hot. I agree that medical advice changes often. But if you're aware of the foods that may harm you and baby during pregnancy, you could just be unselfish for the nine months and give up those foods. I did. I normally eat everything from raw fish to soft boiled eggs to medium rare steak to pate to unpasteurized cheeses to nuts, etc. I sacrificed my varied diet so that I know my baby would not be harmed by my choices.

Cucumber, spinach and peanut butter problems? If you know there's a problem somewhere, it would be wise to avoid it.

As for travelling in motor vehicles, I wouldn't avoid it as it is quite essential. Let's be reasonable. You do need to travel for check ups when you're pregnant but you don't necessarily need to eat raw fish for survival, do you? There are so many other food choices that I don't see why pregnant women can't give up harmful foods for the sake of health and safety.
 
Found this on Pubmed. Case series in China.

Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Neonatal listeriosis is a relatively rare but serious disease with a high mortality rate. This study was conducted to analyze the clinical features, treatment, and outcome of 6 cases with Listeria monocytogenes septicemia confirmed by positive blood cultures.

METHODS: Totally 12,538 live births delivered in the hospital from January 1, 2004 to June 30, 2006 were investigated. Differences in the time of onset of the disease, clinical presentation, illness severity, laboratory data, management, and prognosis were compared between preterm and full-term infants.

RESULTS: The incidence of neonatal listeriosis was 4.8% in this study. All the cases with listeriosis were found to have early onset and the disease was transmitted from the mother to the fetus, 4 of the cases were delivered via cesarean section, 2 were born via normal spontaneous vaginal delivery. Maternal infection before parturition presented with fever in 4, diarrhea in 1; 5 had abnormal white blood cell counts and total neutrophil counts; 1 had positive result of Listeria monocytogenes in intrauterine contents culture. Three premature infants showed signs and symptoms of severe bacterial septicemia at birth, such as reduced activity, respiratory distress, poor skin color and poor peripheral perfusion; the enlarged liver was palpable 2 - 3 cm below the right costal margin and 5 cm below the xiphoid in one; congestive rashes over the body and muscular hypotonia. Abnormal results of laboratory tests included peripheral blood white cell count (21.6 - 33.8 x 10(9))/L, total neutrophil count 0.77 - 0.83; platelet count (102 - 59 x 10(9))/L; C-reactive protein (CRP) > (160 - 118) mg/L(24 - 72 h after birth). Three preterm infants who received intensive care, accompanied by pathological changes of lungs indicated by chest X ray required assisted mechanical ventilation and 2 of them survived without sequelae but the other one died at 51 h of life. The initial clinical signs of septicemia in 3 full-term infants appeared later than preterm newborn within 62 h, 63 h and 165 h, respectively after birth. They only had fever, T 38 - 39 degrees C, with lower activity in contrast to normal newborn and without other signs and symptoms of septicemia. Accurate diagnosis of listeriosis was established by positive bacterial blood cultures. Intravenous treatment of neonatal listeriosis with ampicillin or penicillins for 1 - 2 weeks was more effective, but cephalosporins were not effective.

CONCLUSIONS: There are sporadic cases with Listeria monocytogenes infection among pregnant women in this country, resulting in severe illness of their newborn infants. Early differential diagnosis, early detection of causative organisms, especially in newborn infants infected with Listeria monocytogenes, early treatment with sensitive antibiotics can decrease the mortality rate and improve neonatal outcome. It is necessary to enhance nationwide surveillance for listeriosis.

PMID 18353233 [PubMed - indexed for

Yes, it's rare, but not impossible. I do not believe in old wives tales like cold drinks, but one cannot argue with evidence based medicine. Your garden variety gastro usually won't end up harming the baby, but some pathogens, ESP listeria, can. You don't have to live in some sterile bubble, but not exercising reasonable vigilance in what you put in your mouth, and arguing for argument's sakes, is silly.
 
That last comment wasn't meant as an attack on anyone. :) and it takes a lot of self control to say no to sushi, for me. I will confess I have sneaked a few of them into my mouth during my pregnancy!
 
I must add that one of the rules my obgyn gave was to ensure that food I ate was cooked through properly and to avoid raw food like fruits and veggie unless I was sure that they were fresh and had been cleaned properly. Since he only gave me three or four restrictions, I took it seriously. Well,for my first pregnancy at least... the second one I was more lax but I was aware i was taking a risk.

Listeria, which is the concern with raw food, is more serious than regular food poisoning I think and a pregnant woman's immunity is suppressed already hence the need for extra caution.

There are a lot of things that are done culturally that scientific evidence might later prove risky or not risky and therefore people might stop doing them. In countries where eating a certain food is traditional, they might take longer to stop or maybe the risk is lower in those countries.
 
I'm a BBC and have just moved to HK and am hearing loads of eating and pregnancy advice from MIL, relatives and work colleagues over here! No cold drinks, no bananas, no papaya, no pineapple, no witnessing of any decorating, screwing, hammering, I can't even watch a program about surgical doctors operating!

I went to buy a pair of maternity pants and after trying on several in the fitting rooms I was happy with one and asked if I could just keep them on while the sales lady could just cut the label and my husband would go and pay for it, she kept insisting that I had to take my pants off for her to cut the label and refused to just take some scissors and quickly snip the tag!

I went out to a restaurant with my MIL and attempted to order some lamp chops only to be told 'No!'... Ok... But why? It doesn't matter it's simply a big nono... Ok so after we got home I tried to ask her politely, maybe there was a medical reason for it or maybe something in the red meat? She wouldn't tell me. I later found out from a friend that the Chinese word for lamb/sheep sounds the same as one of the Chinese characters for 'epilepsy'....

So despite all the old wives tales and people saying 'if you believe the it'll happen, if you don't then it won't'
 
I find Hong Kong ppl in general are funny about cold drinks. Not just during pregnancy, but even now, i get dirty looks from MIL if I'm seen giving my preschooler a cold drink, esp if he happens to have the sniffles!
 
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