Pregnancy - what do you avoid?

Family, Education, Health and Pets
21

I wouldn't have thought about that either!! and my baby is due July, so right in time for the hot weather (kinda bums be out, no cute summer clothes for me this year....).

will have to get DH to make some nice limonade though!

ETA: I was wondering and am slightly worried about taking my asthma meds. with winter here the asthma is much worse and I find I am taking the ventolin much more. The pharmacist said it was fine, for the same reason, more important that the baby get the oxygen. And indeed, they said the oral steroids are much worse than the inhaled meds. not sure if this is true though...

all I know is when I first realized I was pregnant I also noticed I had a much more difficult time breathing. The timing coincides with the colder weather, but I also read that in early pregnancy there can be some respiratory difficulties. This has lead to my increased use of the ventolin.

22
Caffeine seems to affect some worse than others. My husband could drink endless espressos and still sleep like the dead, similarly, I could also drink coffee, coke or whatever during breastfeeding and it didn't have any effect on the baby. He probably takes after his dad .

23
I avoided soft yolks, raw fish and meat, un pasteurised cheese and blue cheese, dried cured meats etc... and limited but didn't cut out caffeine. Oh and alcohol, as I don't drink wine I haven't missed it and haven't drank apart from the odd shandy

I am currently in hospital and I am avoiding ordering meat from the menu as last time I was in here at the beginning of my pregnancy they were serving me very rare pink meat. I don't think Switzerland subscribe to the over the top food rules as the UK, US and maybe other countries

But I did also hear that France has one of the highest rates of miscarriages and late miscarriages due to their love of rare meat and un pasteurised cheeses

24
I had a craving for peanut brittle when pregnant with my first but ate little or none with the second child. The second child developed asthma and has a mild peanut intolerance, the first child has no allergies at all.

Go with what your body is telling you is probably the best advice. Though the strangest craving I heard about was that of a colleague's partner - she carved up and ate a garden gnome.

25
Yes, everyday 2 cups. 1 cafeine, 1 decaf. I always did it with my first and I still do it. Cafeine is ok in small amount. You have to make some choices. If you want your coffee, go for it, but think about what you already drank during the day when you want to drink a cola. Or eat chocolat...

It is all about moderation.

I had my pneumologist telling me to keep taking my meds for asthma (at least the seretide discus and the ventolin)

I had to drop my serotonine medications because it can be harmful for the baby during the pregnancy and this is something who does pass throw the milk while breastfeeding. (The reason why I am not going to breastfeed.)

26
I read somewhere some women have cravings for earth... It seems to be explained by their bodies asking for some minerals...

Concerning the meds, my OB considered that it is better for the baby to have a healthy mommy than to avoid at all cost any drug that has a potential but unknown side-effect for the baby.

So I went on taking my antacid tablets and low dose of antidepressant. Both were tested as 'safe' during pregnancy. My OB told me the potential side-effects and risks of stopping them was more damaging to my child than the meds themselves.

27
Yeah, that's got to do with extreme lack of calcium...mom scraped the wall and ate chalk (she was teaching at that time), I know, embarrassing, but prego brains makes you follow the weirdest pull. She also drank oil a few times. I think some cravings definitely mean body is missing something. I remember having strange cravings, plain rice and lentils, nothing else, sour apples.

I avoided anything chemical, pretty much. I think I used just shampoo, and some nonalu deo, I couldn't stand anything artificial, be it incense, essential oil, anything concentrated, ugh. Nail polish, anything that could get absorbed, I avoided sun rather than slap sunscreen over a large area of skin, skin absorbs a lot. No painkillers, no atbs, no corticoids, I think I would never taken anything that we are not sure about, happy pills, sleeping pills, hormones, etc. Being exposed to chemicals at pregnancy isn't the best thing. Teeth usually wait, no xrays, no green vegies right after dairy, etc. The normal common sense stuff. No raw eggs in deserts and sauces. No raw seafood, no raw meat, unpasteurized stuff, no home made weird looking food things, no elderberry and kiwis (too much estrogen), no resto and shop salads since we don't know how they wash it. I think we never really ate out, anyways, it was smoky everywhere, made me gag, plus I like homemade food, better for ya, one never knows with restos. People would even sit next to a prego woman and light up. To have people stand up for you and give you a seat, I don't remember single time.... I think we are just brats back home to expect that.

One really mild late was ok every 2-3 days (about 1/2 teaspoon of instant coffee ), my child didn't mind it after being born, either. Coke, though, I made that mistake once, when nursing, then had to stay on the floor the entire night with my eyes wide open baby and some blocks to build with, ay.

28
What happens when you eat green vegies after dairy?????

Gosh, what you call 'common sense' is more restrictive than most of the textbooks I've read so far, included that American ones!

29
I have never tried any of this, so can't tell, but back home they don't even suggest you conceive if you are on happy pills ...You get free therapy sessions, I think, to get you through the period, and they even say nursing make mama happy so they help you with that rather than starting you on serotonine regulating stuff. My friend was on happy pills here all through out the pregnancy, even nursing, her OB suggested that and supported her but then when she had a very premie child the NICU gave her so much crap, treated her as an incompetent mom, I wonder if they had stats available that her OB didn't have, or sumfin..

30
I have craved milk like nothing else. I can down a 2litre carton in 2 minutes. I have been known to regularly drink 2 to 6 litres a day I am missing it now being stuck in here, warm UHT is just not the same

I have also been off meat whole of pregnancy and have craved fruit fruit and more fruit. Hardly ate fruit before i was pregnant.

My diet mostly has consisted of milk, fruit and pasta with home made tomato sauce

I am hoping these craving will stick around after baby is born, has anyone carried on with the same food cravings and non cravings after giving birth?

31
They inhibit the calcium absorption, I think cereal as well, nuts and, rhubab, cocoa, I can't remember. Spinach, since it has a high level of oxalats. I am not sure if I am even spelling thins right, hahah...You can eat all of those, but different times than calcium (calcium in natural form, the supplements don't absorb as well..quark is the best).

32
My mad uncontrollable craving for all things sweet, sticky and cakey went away with the first meal I had after giving birth. Whereas I would have stabbed someone with a fork if they had so much as looked at my dessert, I found I couldn't face it.

Scoffed the main course but left the chocolate flan to my husband.

My mum was the same but in reverse - couldn't face drinking tea when she was carrying me but, in the 70's, the custom was to give the exhausted new mother a cup of tea, which she promptly drank without any flicker of disgust.

33
Some people eat earth, but that earth is called argile. It's a miracle stuff.

and it's full of things our body needs

34
Yeah, I did. Somethings do change for good, I have totally different palate now, and like/dislike to smell different things than before..not that I would walk around sniffing strangers, but perfume wise, for example, I couldn't stand a few things after I gave birth. My feet grew a tad bigger in pregnancy, never came back. It's all works off the hormones. It's super interesting, also had inexplicable nightmares, a few times. I couldn't stand celery before and beet, now love it, always loved fruit but I think it's a treat kinda sensation, too, love it even more. Pasta, fresh bread..before I was more protein person.

35
I had weireder cravings during my first pregnancy. It was cyclic, quite funny: I think once I ate almost nothing else but cervelas for a week

This time, it's more about smells. I can't stand coffee: just smelling it makes me gag. And my boyfriend's perfume made me want to throw up poor guy had to go buy a new one, or stay very far away from me The smell of my dog is also difficult, I threatened her to buy her a toothbrush to reduce it

36
Hahah, that makes me laugh...Brussel sprouts I immensely enjoy now, and colorabi, I was never big on brocolli and after I had my child I could kill for those and some lightly steamed brocolli. Hormons are weird. It's also the texture of things that push me to eat things now, yesterday I had some wheat risoto, lovely, I didn't eat it for 15 years, but after I had my child I crave that chunky texture, anything with a lot of texture is yum. I should get outa this thread..

37
I don't know about that. I am and will be on those meds for the rest of my life. Body never produced the natural stuff itself! So I didn't have this lets try to fix it before the pregnancy thing .

38
I continued to eat EVERYTHING but sushis.. living in Asia it was a real sacrifice for me. and while breastfeeding I avoided asparagus because of the strong taste in the milk.

39
I think eating non-organic things like the ones described here is called "pica" ? and like cravings it's due to a lacking.

I craved jello (sugary gelatine) and oranges like crazy, I'd cry if I couldn't have them when I wanted them. I didn't want to eat anything else. To this day my teenager shuns oranges !

I avoided anything raw and medications if possible. Nevertheless I had to take antibiotics during the pregnancy and I remembering being upset about it.

I too could not stand smelling or seeing raw meat of any kind, let alone touch it or cook it. I couldn't stay in the supermarket because my sense of smell became so finely tuned I could smell the meat throughout the store. I avoided food stores and stuck to the open veggie and fruit market.

All food cravings, weird dreams, and strange senses disappeared after birth.

40
I avoid raw meat and egg, as well as blue cheese and in general try to buy good quality stuff.

Sushi I avoid but would so much like some... maybe some california rolls?

Am more careful in washing my veggies and throw things at the slightest doubt.

I do not drink coke (or very little) because of the aspartame and no schweppes because of the quinine... for me drinks are more an issue then food

I have 2 cups of black tea a day, one normal and one decaf and then some herbal teas here and there and if I am out the odd coffee.

Ah yes, I have the odd glass of wine with food too... my doc said 2/week are fine if with food and not at the same time.

I think it is all about balance and some of the dos and dont I read here make my head ache... I think sticking ot a normal healthy diet and avoiding risky situations is the way to go

K