On a holiday and pregnant

R

recurring

Registered User
Hello all,
I won't be back to HK for another 5 weeks and Im now 6 weeks pregnant, will it be too late for me to book an appointment for my first prenatal check in Mid-Aug? Or should I do it here (abroad)?

I also found out that Im not allowed to eat some types of food, however I ate all sorts (raw eggs, sushi, soft cheeces, cured meat) and drinks quite a lot before I did the pregnancy test. Would these harmful to the fetus at early weeks?

TIA-
 
Congratulations. If you're planning on going private I'd call or email the practice of whoever you want to see and tell them your situation. You can put in for a matilda booking at 9 weeks so it's possible you could do a scan there and send it for them to put in your booking form... depending on where you want to go. If you're going public, I think you should be ok to wait but someone with more experience with the public system will be along soon.

You're not the only one to have eaten and drunk all the 'shouldn't' stuff before you knew, probably more women have done that than not. The placenta wasn't developed in the early weeks then so it's highly unlikely that you passed anything on, it will be fine. It's worth reading about the risks involved in all these foods as some of them are greatly exaggerated, I wouldn't worry at all. Get a doctor sorted if you're going private and then relax and enjoy the rest of your holiday.
 
I made contact with my HK doctor from overseas (picked him out based solely on Geobaby feedback and I am really pleased with him) when I was about 8 weeks pregnant and he was able to book me in a private hospital. My doctor asked me to do some tests and scans that the hospital required, then I would email back the results. I also paid the reservation fee remotely. I'm sure you won't have much problems even on holiday, but you sure have to make time for some visits to a nearby hospital.

Oh, congratulations! :-)
 
My rule is to not worry about anything you cannot control. And you can't un-eat what you ate last week, so forget about it. There's nothing you can do.
The risk of infection from these foods is very, very low. When I was in early pregnancy, I looked up the bacteria in cold cuts, and the infection rate was way less than 1%.
Plus, Japanese women eat sushi while pregnant, and French women continue to eat soft cheeses and cold cuts, and most of them are fine. In Europe, women just moderate their alcohol intake, but they don't cut it out completely like in America.
I've generally given up these foods, but I did have a piece of my favorite sushi on a special occasion with my husband, and I've had a few half-cups of coffee and wine -- and I haven't gotten sick at all, touch wood.
Just control your diet from here on in. And congrats!
 
did actually ask my doctor about the sushi / alcohol when i expectedly became pregnant with #3...he says that theoretically the baby does not consume (?) the food intake in the 1st trimester so i didn't have to worry - he did reiterate that he was referring "social" drinking and that from now on i should just be careful - he did emphasize that raw tuna was the worst sashimi to eat though....congrats and don't worry!
 
Thank you all for the kind feedback. I am more relaxed now about the food and drinks. As I have to go through the public system, perhaps I have to wait then...
 
Raw tuna is the most risky sashimi because of the potentially high levels of mercury that can accumulate in the apex predators - in fact all tuna or similar "top" ocean predators suffer from this worry. It is interesting to see all the Western doctors ban sushi/sashimi for their clients - in Japan it seems the majority pregnant ladies happily continue with it as part of their diet throughout their pregnancy.

I think the main concerns (apart from the mercury issue) are poor preparation/food safety leading to food poisoning. If you didn't get sick, then no worries!

My wife also drank and ate proscribed stuff before she realized she was pregnant - it must be a really common issue... As the others have said, don't worry about the stuff you can't change and be reassured it's extremely unlikely to have been a problem! Once you get your scan and see your little babies heart beating away madly your fears will drop away :D
 
2010-NewDad said:
Raw tuna is the most risky sashimi because of the potentially high levels of mercury that can accumulate in the apex predators - in fact all tuna or similar "top" ocean predators suffer from this worry. It is interesting to see all the Western doctors ban sushi/sashimi for their clients - in Japan it seems the majority pregnant ladies happily continue with it as part of their diet throughout their pregnancy.

I think the main concerns (apart from the mercury issue) are poor preparation/food safety leading to food poisoning. If you didn't get sick, then no worries!

My wife also drank and ate proscribed stuff before she realized she was pregnant - it must be a really common issue... As the others have said, don't worry about the stuff you can't change and be reassured it's extremely unlikely to have been a problem! Once you get your scan and see your little babies heart beating away madly your fears will drop away :D
Click to expand...

I agree. Regarding sushi, here's what the NHS has to say: http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/is-it-s...regnancy.aspx?CategoryID=54&SubCategoryID=216
 
i still sneak in some sashimi on some days and it's a real treat when i do (i'm 3rd trimester):-P
i definitely stay away from high mercury content fish in general - raw or not.
 
Congratulations! Like everyone has said already, don't worry about what has passed already and I don't think it's bad to have sushi unless it hasn't been properly frozen to kill any bacteria. If you're going thru the public system, don't worry. I didn't go to my first check up with my first baby til I was 28 weeks. I was seeing a private doctor up until then.
 
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