What "bad" foods did you eat while pregnant?

Question

I'm not pregnant, just ttc. I think the list of foods to avoid while pregnant is a bit mind-boggling. I have friends who "break the rules" - a half a glass of wine, and one friend who told me that all the Feta she ate is why her kids are so beautiful. How did the previous generation ever survive? How do you guys do it? Some of the list I agree with, others, well, I don't know. Do you think it's reasonable to avoid all of these foods, or can you cheat a little?

As far as I have found, you have to avoid
Alcohol
Chocolate
Caffiene
Deli Meat
Honey
Hot dogs
Sushi
Soft Cheeses
A lot of seafood
Raw eggs
Rare meat
MSG
Aspartame

Let me know if I am forgetting anything :)

Answer 1

A couple more additions: peanuts/peanut butter if you have food allergies or asthma (risk of passing on a nut allergy), liver/pate/foie gras (excess vitamin A, could cause neural tube defects).

Personally, I think your adherence to the list depends on how scared you are, if you've had problems before, etc. I'm in the last few days of my first trimester of my first pregnancy. For the most part, I'm following the guidelines, but I slip now & then, particularly if I'm not at home. It would take a lot more caution and willpower than I'm willing to put into it to follow them to the letter. I drink a little bit of coffee (way less than I used to - guidelines are under 200 mg/day) and have an occasional diet soda (maybe 2/week, usually not caffeinated.) I've eaten feta, which is considered one of the possible listeriosis cheeses, and I had one piece of raw scallop sushi.

Most of my friends have done the same - try to follow them most of the time, but not sweat the occasional minor lapse. I do have a few friends who have miscarried in the past and they're most comfortable following everything to the letter. Remember that a lot of the things on the list are there because you could get sick from them, and you can't really take anything while you're pregnant if you do.

I think a lot of it is cultural -- I was just in Europe and when I would tell people I couldn't drink because I was pregnant, they'd be like "Oh, perhaps just a small glass of red wine?" No, thank you (at least not this early.) And Japanese women still eat sushi during their pregnancy. Just as here, most of the babies turn out just fine. Oh, and btw, in the US most soft cheeses are pasteurized, so go by what it says on the label rather than just banning them all - that's actually what the CDC recommends these days as well.

Answer 2

During my pregnancy, I have had a few sips of champagne at a wedding but otherwise avoided alcohol. I know many women who have occasional glasses of wine or beer, but I avoided it because I have read that just when you are feeling tipsy the baby is downright drunk because the blood alcohol level is the same in the baby as the mom. So, I never liked the idea of a drunk fetus ...

Chocolate and caffeine in moderation should be fine. Most doctors say no more than 3 cups of caffeinated beverages a day but I've heard anywhere from 1-6 a day.

Deli meat can contain bacteria that could be harmful to the baby and often contains preservatives that could be bad. Look for deli meat at natural food stores that say "no nitrates/nitrites added."

I don't know about honey in pregnancy, but definitely don't give honey to a baby less than one year of age.

Hot dogs, sushi, soft cheese, raw eggs and rare meat should all be avoided also because of the risk of bad bacteria being ingested. I know women who have eaten all of these and had healthy babies, but why risk it?

MSG and aspartame are probably fine but both are chemicals and should probably be limited. I have gestational diabetes and have had to use some sweeteners other than sugar. I have tried to stick with splenda ... it's made from sugar and thus considered safer than aspartame (besides, it tastes better).

And as far as seafood/fish goes, certain kinds of fish contain high levels of mercury that could be harmful to the fetus. There are certain kinds of fish to stay away from all together, such as shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish. Tuna should be eaten in moderation. Also, I have read that farm raised fish is more likely to be contaminated with industrial pollutants.

Hope this helps. I don't pretend to be an expert at this. I'm 39 weeks pregnant and a registered nurse, so I've just read a lot. Good luck.

Answer 3

No one should eat raw eggs anytime but everything else on that list, I ate when I was pregnant. I doubt that Feta cheese has anything to do with kids looks-never heard that before. Everything in moderation. I wouldn't go out and get ripped but one glass of wine is not going to do anything.People worry too much.Avoid chocolate while pregnant? Right... That should be against the law.

Answer 4

I did for the most part - a lot of the advice is ultra cautious as the risks are fairly low - with the mercury, it is based on a regular large consumption of those fish and most people wouldn't normally exceed the danger levels. I didn't worry too much about steak, so long as it wasn't too rare...You are a little bit more susceptible to bugs in preg as your immune level is slightly suppressed so that you don't "reject" the baby, so you so need to be a bit careful. I did get a sickness bug when I was about 16 weeks preg with my first after being in France for the weekend - It was awful and it did make me worry that he might be affected too - fortunately he was fine. I would def be a bit more wary whilst abroad - travellers tum is bad enough without being preg!

Answer 5

Chocolate and caffeine has been shown in recent studies to not harm the baby if used in moderation. Every OB/GYN I have had for my pregnancies has told me that 2-3 8oz cups of regular coffee, or 1 double shot espresso is safe to consume while pregnant. As far as the deli meats, as long as they are re-heated to where they are steaming, they are safe as far as bacteria goes, but be careful of the nitrates....lots of sodium. Don't know why someone would eat raw eggs in the first place, so that should be a no-brainer. Rare meat only pertains to ground meat, not steaks. If it did have bacteria on it cooking the steaks would kill it, but when ground it gets inside, so that is why you should not eat rare burgers. Honey can cause botulism, and that can kill the baby, and that is why babies should not eat it until at least age one. I waited until my son was 2 before giving him honey. Soft cheeses are not pasteurized fully or at all, so that is not safe. You can eat fresh water fish, such as salmon, but there is mercury in the ocean water, and you CAN eat fish from the ocean, but maybe only once or twice a week.

I had 2 cups of coffee an hour before my ultra sound when I was pregnant with my son, and his heart rate was no different than it was when I had my ultra sound with no coffee.
I work at Mc Donald's (Didn't before my son was born) and I craved the double cheese burgers there and limited myself to 1 per week. It is a good idea to avoid the fried stuff...yes, even the fries. We are in the process of having test markets for a new oil that is free of trans-fats, but so far the results are not good. They are trying to find one that doesn't change the flavor of the fries too much. Too much trans-fat is not good for anyone, especially a growing baby.

Answer 6

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
What "bad" foods did you eat while pregnant?
I'm not pregnant, just ttc. I think the list of foods to avoid while pregnant is a bit mind-boggling. I have friends who "break the rules" - a half a glass of wine, and one friend who told me that all the Feta she ate is why her kids are so beautiful. How did the previous generation...

Answer 7

I have a soda once a day, a small glass when I wake up. It also helped with the morning sickness early on. Chocolate...well, is wonderful! You have to have some chocolate ice cream every now and then while pregnant, right? I am 34 weeks pregnant and my baby is perfectly healthy. A lot of women drink wine too, and say that it is ok. I just feel too guilty to do something like that.

Answer 8

Well I still drink caffinene and did with my daughter as well, no bad effects...atleast one -two cans a day, I can't deal with the caffiene headaches
I eat hotdogs every now and then, cooked not raw.
And I eat alot of shirmp and crab meat b/c I'm craving it

The only thing my doctor told me to not eat alot of was ham b/c the salt/sodium in it and of course no alcohol or nicotine.

I have also read that you shouldn't eat soft serve ice cream. Which while craving this, this pregnancy I have developed a lactose intolerance

Answer 9

I ate everything that I ate before I got pregnant. I drank pop all the time, ate chocolate all the time the only thing that I didn't do while I was pregnant that I had before was alcohol. I haven't had a drink since August 2006.

Answer 10

I'll drink a cup of caffiene a day for about 2 weeks, then I'll stop for two weeks, then I'll start again. Sugar intake is probably more than it should be. I have had a bit of jack in the box. Only a couple of plates of chinese food (msg) and quite a bit of fritos. No alchohol. Spinach, every day!