A workmate of mine is about 3 months pregnant. She's fairly neurotic about the food she eats in normal circumstances. Needless to say, she's out of her mind with worry about what she can eat while pregnant as she's concerned that certain foods might cause problems with the child or the pregnancy. She has had a lot of difficulty in getting pregnant and it seems to have been a long hard road for her (I'd rather not go into specifics) so her concerns are quite understandable.

What I'm hoping people can post in here is foods that have been proven to cause problems or difficulties while pregnant or in the child after it is born, and are recommended to be avoided. I'm not interested in old wives' tales and myths that have no scientific back-up or basis, but ones that have been proven to be correct are obviously welcome.

Also, I'd be interested to hear about any widely circulated myths or old wives' tales that have been proven to be incorrect.

If you like, post anecdotal stuff (if you have any) that you wouldn't mind me sharing vaguely with my workmate.

I'd really like to reassure her. She's the world's biggest worrier (she already panicked about having had a lager-shandy before realising she was pregnant!) so I'm sure it would make her pregnancy a lot more comfortable to have her mind put at rest about what she's consuming. And perhaps this thread will be of use to people here who are feeling some uncertainty about what to eat.

__________________
Deux hommes font une promenade amicale. L'un des deux porte un parapluie à son bras.
Il se met à pleuvoir. L'homme n'ouvre pas son parapluie et l'autre lui demande pourquoi.
- Parce que ça ne servirait à rien, lui répond son ami. Il est plein de trous.
- Alors, pourquoi l'as-tu pris?
- Parce que je ne pensais pas qu'il pleuvrait.

I copied this from a website I have looked for information on.

• Cheese - it is only mould-ripened cheese that should be avoided i.e. cheese that has a blue vein in it or the type of skin or crust that is found on cheese such as Brie or Camembert

• Eggs - you only need to avoid raw or undercooked eggs

• All salad dressings that you buy or such as mayonnaise will have been made using pasteurised egg and are therefore quite safe. Cook eggs until the yolk and white are not runny any more. Be careful about eating 'home-made' products such as chocolate mousse which may contain raw egg

• Paté - all paté, whether made from meat, fish or vegetables should be avoided unless it is labelled pasteurised or UHT

• Fish - pregnant women should avoid shark, swordfish and marlin, and limit tuna to no more than two tuna steaks a week (weighing about 140g cooked or 170g raw) or four medium-size cans of tuna a week (with a drained weight of about 140g per can). This is because of the levels of mercury in these fish. At high levels, mercury can harm a baby's developing nervous system


Have no more than two portions of oily fish a week such as mackerel, sardines and trout.

Theres also this section which tells you what is safe and what isn't
http://www.babycentre.co.uk/pregnancy/isitsafeto

do you get the big NHS pregnancy book at your booking in appt with the midwife in scotland? (a4 purple and green thing). there's a list in there if she has it.

basically it lists what dizzytart said plus:

- liver - too much vit A (which has been linked to cleft palate i think) also vit A supplements

- peanuts esp if you have allergies in your or the father's family

- be careful that meat is well-cooked (no trace of pink) esp lamb because of toxoplasmosis

- be extra careful about washing fruit, veg and salad because toxoplasma can be in the soil

(also because of toxoplasma if she likes gardening she should wear gloves and avoid emptying cat litter trays and avoid lambing ewes and newborn lambs)

green tea absorbs folic acid so shouldent be drank while preg

I've always heard you're not supposed to take caffeine (which is in coffee, tea, chocolate, etc.)

true. you are supposed to limit the amount of your caffeine intake.

also, pay attention to the types of fish you eat and how much. the amount of mercury in some fish can be very bad.

Tuna because of the mercury levels & cured meats

Oh and if she has a cat box, she shouldn't be the one to change the cat box while pregnant, the amonia in the urine is pretty toxic to the prego's.

it's not the ammonia that's a danger to pregnant moms it's the potential of the cat poo containing taxoplasmosis which can be fatal to an unborn baby

http://www.metrokc.gov/health/prevcont/toxoplas.htm

This is true. Folic acid is necessary for the growth of cells. If your friend isn't getting enough of it while pregnant, it can result in birth defects. Cereals are rich in folic acid, so if your mate is fond of cereal, all the better.

I'm not sure about what foods she should avoid, but if it helps I've heard that exposure to ultraviolet light while pregnant can be very dangerous.

avoid unpastureized honey
(which i had never knew until i was preggers)

Well it's good she's paranoid about what to eat and what not to eat. The child is devolping it's a vital time so everything you take in is important that it's good for the child. It is better to be safe rather than sorry.