Avoiding certain foods during pregnancy - good advice or just stupid?

[Sunbed]

Someone was telling me a story about how their sister couldn't find something to eat on the menu. The specific example she used was about some cured meat or something, which I thought was ridiculous. So, I googled it and it turns out that there is loads of stuff you shouldn't eat whilst pregnant:

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/foods-to-avoid-pregnant.aspx#cautious

Some of those seem really dumb e.g. blue cheese - there is a rare chance that a certain bacteria may cause illness which is in turn bad for the baby. So, because there is a slim chance, that means an all-out ban of that food whilst pregnant? Seems dumb - if you haven't been ill from cheese before, why would it happen now?

I just think people get so overprotective with babies. It's like babies have a special little bubble with a total NO RISK policy. If I had a baby I think I would want my child to benefit from a varied diet from the mother.

How do they know that some of the things they are restricting aren't very beneficial for a baby's development? I think I would rather take the risk of a baby's ill health than deprive it of valuable nutrition that you would get from loads of those banned foods. The human body is very resilient and I think nature should be allowed to take its course.

Final point: humans have been around for thousands of years, with some communities probably living almost solely from fish and shellfish. Did those communities experience a huge amount more miscarriages and deformed babies? I doubt it... They probably just developed a better resistance to certain bacteria.

 

[Haggisman]

Some of those seem really dumb e.g. blue cheese - there is a rare chance that a certain bacteria may cause illness which is in turn bad for the baby. So, because there is a slim chance, that means an all-out ban of that food whilst pregnant? Seems dumb - if you haven't been ill from cheese before, why would it happen now?

It's not just to do with the mum getting ill, the bacteria can pass to the baby, which (surprisingly enough) doesn't have a fully developed immune system.

Final point: humans have been around for thousands of years, with some communities probably living almost solely from fish and shellfish. Did those communities experience a huge amount more miscarriages and deformed babies? I doubt it... They probably just developed a better resistance to certain bacteria.

Thousands of years ago we weren't pumping tons of waste into the oceans, so the fish and shellfish didn't have as (relatively) high concentrations of toxins/heavy metals as they do today

To be honest, I think you are the one overreacting - yes there is a "list" of things to avoid, but it's hardly a long list. The "loss of nutritional value" from a couple of specific cheeses and certain types of fish is going to be non-existent when there are plenty of other types of fish and cheese

 

[Mr Jones]

All in moderation, as long as they don't take any obvious stuff like drugs and products that may contain Thalidomide and the likes, I really don't see why one should or should not eat one product over another just because they've got a baby.

Also the myth of eating for two is utter pointless.

 

[[FnG]magnolia]

OP, I hope you never have to draw on the experience of the very people you are mocking.

 

[Hyburnate]

All in moderation, as long as they don't take any obvious stuff like drugs and products that may contain Thalidomide and the likes, I really don't see why one should or should not eat one product over another just because they've got a baby.

Also the myth of eating for two is utter pointless.

Well it's more that (I assume) walking round when pregnant (more late into pregnancy) gets tiring and uses more energy, thus more food.

e;

No idea what it says about me or how it has affected me, but my mother didn't really bother about what she ate (bar drinking alcohol (except for a glass of wine from time to time)) and I think I came out okay....

However, several decades on and the knowledge has improved significantly. Though it does make you think, how the hell did we survive until now without all this information?

I think moderation is key - but then again I haven't been put in that situation.

Well that answers a lot But seriously speaking I guess my mum (and I'm much younger and so newer research) didn't change her diet much, I mean she stopped smoking, she doesn't drink so there was none of that etc although she did end up having a calcium deficiency during her pregnancy so I guess there was that aspect that went wrong. But then again there were some complications with my birth

 

[Freefaller]

No idea what it says about me or how it has affected me, but my mother didn't really bother about what she ate (bar drinking alcohol (except for a glass of wine from time to time)) and I think I came out okay....

However, several decades on and the knowledge has improved significantly, and our environment has worsened. Though it does make you think, how the hell did we survive until now without all this information in the past?

I think moderation is key - but then again I haven't been put in that situation, but certainly alcohol, smoking and certain medications seem like a sensible precaution. Why tempt providence?

 

[TheVoice]

How do they know that some of the things they are restricting aren't very beneficial for a baby's development?

Because research?

I think I would rather take the risk of a baby's ill health than deprive it of valuable nutrition that you would get from loads of those banned foods.

So you'd rather risk it than find other sources for that nutrition? How thoughtful.

 

[[FnG]magnolia]

Moderation is important but there are a number of strong recommendations which midwives will make, based on current thinking and likely best outcomes for your baby. To dismiss this as 'stupid' seems unusual.

 

[elmarko]

Moderation is important but there are a number of strong recommendations which midwives will make, based on current thinking and likely best outcomes for your baby. To dismiss this as 'stupid' seems unusual.

My thoughts exactly.

If you consider the kind of diet early humans would have had before modern agricultural farming methods, the frequency of added chemicals/pesticides & the pollution levels of the ocean - it's hardly surprising that some additional care may need to be taken when dealing with a infant in early development.

 

[Freefaller]

It's interesting isn't it, how as we evolve, our offspring are needing to be even more protected than when we were less advanced...

 

[pitchfork]

Everything in moderation.

People are too careful, too clean and too fussy these days.

 

[cheesyboy]

It's probably worth remembering that infant mortality in days of lore would have been many, many times higher than they are now.

 

[elmarko]

It's interesting isn't it, how as we evolve, our offspring are needing to be even more protected than when we were less advanced...

Indeed, a side product of us tainting our own bodies, the food supply & the local environment with chemicals or substances known to detrimentally impact on the early development of the young.

Overall (due to the abundance of modern medicine, lack of famine in the developed world, above average nutrition levels) I'm sure they are better off - but we're presented with different considerations as a result of it.

I wouldn't say they need more protecting - just the nature of it has changed.

It's probably worth remembering that infant mortality in days of lore would have been many, many times higher than they are now.

Yup, now we have a different list of issues (in which the severity of them is lower).

 

[semi-pro waster]

I'd generally think it's worth taking the advice of people who are qualified in the area although I believe that the advice about what a mother should do while pregnant can vary quite significantly from country to country. There will doubtless be some bits of guidance that are well supported by evidence (e.g. drinking heavily or smoking while pregnant is harmful) and others which are more related to cultural norms.

 

[Deleted member 66701]

It's interesting isn't it, how as we evolve, our offspring are needing to be even more protected than when we were less advanced...

Yeah, and when we were "less advanced", the number of miscarriages were multiples higher than they are now.

The reason why we have low numbers of miscarriages now is because of the scientifically derived advice we have now.

Basically - avoid anything that can cross the placenta - so that's items with a high mercury content (i.e. tuna) as that increases the risk of deformity or anything that might contain something like salmonella (i.e. soft ice cream, soft cheeses etc). If you get salmonella whilst pregnant you wont be just a little poorly - it's a 90% chance you'll miscarry. Is it really worth the risk just for some tasty cheese? You should also avoid food groups you might be allergic to - again - it might make you a bit poorly but it significantly increases the risk of a miscarriage.

 

[Sunbed]

It's not just to do with the mum getting ill, the bacteria can pass to the baby, which (surprisingly enough) doesn't have a fully developed immune system.

You know who else doesn't have fully developed immune systems? Children. On R4 the other day there was a program about allergies, specifically how there are more of them these days. The hypothesis was that children who got ill more in their early years experienced fewer allergies in adulthood. Getting ill is natural and I believe it can be beneficial later.

From my own anecdotal experience, I got serious food poisoning when I was young, salmonella and campylobacter at the same time. Not pretty at the time but I've never had food poisoning since, and I've eaten a lot of ****. Not exactly a scientific study but I like to think that period of illness forged my immune system into the beast it is today

OP, I hope you never have to draw on the experience of the very people you are mocking.

Not mocking anyone. It just seems counter-intuitive to me.

I think moderation is key - but then again I haven't been put in that situation, but certainly alcohol, smoking and certain medications seem like a sensible precaution. Why tempt providence?

Yes, everything in moderation is my rule of thumb for dieting, but I think I would also draw the line at smoking and certain medications. Not made up my mind about alcohol yet. My gut feeling says an occasional glass of wine or beer wouldn't be detrimental.

 

[Uhtred]

My Mrs got ill while she was pregnant, it seems women that are pregnant are more at risk from contaminated food. We were at a hotel at the time, no one else got ill (we didn't even know she was pregnant at the time) so I think that's what most of this stuff is about, mitigating risk.

Except peanuts, you shouldn't eat peanuts.

 

[aardvark]

yeah how dare these people use scientific research to lower the mortality rate of unborn children!!

 

[MikeTheNative]

yeah how dare these people use scientific research to lower the mortality rate of unborn children!!

Some people have such cheek don't they?

 

[Rroff]

If you really care about a baby is it really a hardship to avoid something that has a known foreseeable risk, albeit a small one? granted there is also small risks from many other things that may not be listed.