https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sat, 04 Apr 2026 04:27:57 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/eating-food-to-avoid-anyway/page/2#post-282428 Wed, 05 Sep 2012 04:02:39 +0000 erinpye 282428@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I didn't eat anything raw, didn't have lot of deli meats, no alcohol, I already only like super well-done meat so that was no problem, but I did have soft serve and caffeine. I just trusted my intuition and ate things within moderation. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/eating-food-to-avoid-anyway/page/2#post-282388 Tue, 04 Sep 2012 22:48:22 +0000 softcream 282388@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@LIVSMAMA thanks for sharing those real life stories. it's stories like those that would cause me to pause. can i ask a few questions? i totally understand if you don't feel comfortable answering for any reason though.</p> <p>the first mother who got salmonella, do you know if she had a reasonable belief that the beef was from a reputable source but she got sick anyway? i feel like it's very different if say, a) she usually ate her steaks fully cooked at chain restaurants but she felt like it was ok to eat a medium rare steak at home with beef she purchased at the farmers market, vs b) she ate medium rare steaks throughout her pregnancy at restaurants and at home because she thought the odds of getting salmonella were low.</p> <p>the second mother, do you know if she was able to pinpoint the source of the listeria? the scariest part of listeria is that it could show up even in places that aren't on the list of known sources, like cantaloupe recently. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/eating-food-to-avoid-anyway/page/2#post-281622 Tue, 04 Sep 2012 13:13:52 +0000 Honeybee 281622@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Pretty much the only thing I stuck to on the "do not eat" list was no alcohol, and that is only because my husband feels adamantly about it. Well, and I pretty much never eat fish/seafood, so that rule doesn't apply to me, lol. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/eating-food-to-avoid-anyway/page/2#post-281341 Tue, 04 Sep 2012 10:41:19 +0000 Mrs Green Grass 281341@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Andrea &amp; Dagret: Eggs are my biggest issue too! I've eaten them over-medium my entire life and just don't like them any other way. I ate them for awhile until I realized I wasn't supposed too, but I think I'm over it.</p> <p>It definitely kills me that mangos and cantaloupes have been the biggest problems recently! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/eating-food-to-avoid-anyway/page/2#post-281313 Tue, 04 Sep 2012 10:20:09 +0000 LemonLong 281313@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm not really avoiding any foods on the "no-no list". I didn't drink alcohol at all pre-pregnancy so that's not an issue, and I don't like any sort of fish or seafood so those are the only things on the list that I probably haven't had this pregnancy. </p> <p>Almost anything can have listeria or salmonella, sticking to the list of avoidable foods doesn't guarantee you won't contract Listeria or other food poisoning. The risk of getting it is quite small (I believe that the CDC reports that there are only about 1,600 cases of listeria per year in the US), and the worry isn't worth it to me with stats like that. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/eating-food-to-avoid-anyway/page/2#post-281295 Tue, 04 Sep 2012 10:13:42 +0000 mrsjyw 281295@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>i was strict during 1st trim. since then i've had sushi (cooked), shrimp, turkey sandwiches (hot), chicken salad, tuna salad, etc.</p> <p>i try to keep everything in moderation and try to stay within the parameters too. i def haven't eaten undercooked meats or deli meat cold. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/eating-food-to-avoid-anyway/page/2#post-281218 Tue, 04 Sep 2012 09:24:35 +0000 LivsMama 281218@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I now know two people who have been affected by this. One got salmonella from eating undercooked steak. It caused her water to break at 33 weeks (just last week.), and the baby contracted it. She is still in the NICU, but will be out in a week or two.</p> <p>I know one person personally, and one that a friend knows, who lost their baby to listeria after 25 weeks. Im sorry, but for me, the risk isnt worth it. One of those girls is still in therapy for feeling responsible for her baby getting listeria. I avoided almost all of the "avoid" foods for my whole pregnancy. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/eating-food-to-avoid-anyway/page/2#post-281183 Tue, 04 Sep 2012 08:49:18 +0000 Smurfette 281183@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@eiko2010: That is interesting, my doctor told me only to buy lunch meat from the deli and not to buy the pre-packaged stuff. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/eating-food-to-avoid-anyway#post-281180 Tue, 04 Sep 2012 08:47:07 +0000 littlebug 281180@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I've had an occasional glass of wine. I eat lunch meat, but only packaged lunch meat, because that's what my doctor ok'd (she said no from the deli, packaged is fine). I have not had soft serve and probably will continue to avoid it. Now that summer's pretty much over, that won't be so hard to do anymore. In the beginning of the summer, I was eating mangoes like they were going out of style, but once the salmonella outbreak hit, I stopped buying mangoes. I haven't eaten dippy eggs, which has been difficult because it's the only way I like them usually. To me, it's not worth the risk. I don't think any less of anyone who does eat those things, but it's just not something I feel comfortable doing. Sometimes, I envy people who are comfortable eating soft serve ice cream and dippy eggs. I'm just not. To each their own, I say. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/eating-food-to-avoid-anyway#post-281157 Tue, 04 Sep 2012 08:20:37 +0000 regberadaisy 281157@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@dagret: interesting! I still wouldn't eat a raw egg though :P </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/eating-food-to-avoid-anyway#post-281143 Tue, 04 Sep 2012 08:04:12 +0000 chopsuey 281143@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I ate and pretty much eat whatever.. As long as I cook it myself or it's from a reputable and clean place. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/eating-food-to-avoid-anyway#post-281139 Tue, 04 Sep 2012 08:00:09 +0000 dagret 281139@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@regberadaisy: actually it DOES make a difference. While the original incidence of salmonella in eggs is extraordinarily low, this story points out that its often spread further by contaminated processing equipment. <a href="http://news.discovery.com/human/egg-salmonella-bacteria.html" rel="nofollow">http://news.discovery.com/human/egg-salmonella-bacteria.html</a><br /> So your backyard chickens, whose eggs aren't processed, are less likely to be contaminated than factory farm eggs. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/eating-food-to-avoid-anyway#post-281125 Tue, 04 Sep 2012 07:42:38 +0000 regberadaisy 281125@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@JerricaBenton: @MrsHotDog: I was the exact same way. If anything were to ever happen because of my brief moment of indulgence I could never forgive myself.</p> <p>@softcream: I personally don't think the food being "clean" or not would make a difference. Eating a egg raw whether it's from a farm 50 miles away that is humane is no different than eating a egg raw from a farm a 1,000 miles away that packs all their chickens into one tight coop. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/eating-food-to-avoid-anyway#post-281122 Tue, 04 Sep 2012 07:31:57 +0000 MrsHotDog 281122@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I avoid all the risky foods. I am a worry-wart though and would stress myself out if I knowingly ate something that could harm my baby. I know the chances are so small that I would be ingesting listeria, but I could never forgive myself if I was the 1 in 5000 ( I have no idea what the actual statistic is) person that saw firsthand what it would do to my baby. I don't judge people who don't follow the same guidelines though because I know we are all different. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/eating-food-to-avoid-anyway#post-281119 Tue, 04 Sep 2012 07:26:37 +0000 mrbee 281119@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@dagret: if your craving is strong, you could also buy a soft serve machine! They start at $30-40, not too bad! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/eating-food-to-avoid-anyway#post-281117 Tue, 04 Sep 2012 07:22:56 +0000 Andrea 281117@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrbee: sounds like a nice way to kill time anyway. Hope everyone gets over the jet lag soon! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/eating-food-to-avoid-anyway#post-281115 Tue, 04 Sep 2012 07:21:48 +0000 dagret 281115@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrbee: that's what I don't get. Listeria IS likely to have a terrible outcome when you are pregnant, but a lot of doctors tell women not to worry about soft serve. </p> <p>I choose to to make educated choices about my food. </p> <p>I still get soft serve, but I mostly choose the flavor of the week - that's likely to have been cleaned out recently, and always from a local place that i know is spotless. </p> <p>I will Eat med rare steaks from a reputable source but hamburgers have to be fully cooked. </p> <p>Most of the food borne illness seems to be cropping up during processing - when beef from a bunch of cows is slaughtered quickly in an assembly line and combined together to make frankenbeef. When apples are presliced and bagged (McDonald's). When salad greens are washed and bagged. </p> <p>That said, there's so much food borne illness out there that we would have NOtHING to eat if we avoided likely-contaminated food. My cousin got salmonella from tomatoes while she was pregnant. And a lot of people got e coli from green onions a few years back. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/eating-food-to-avoid-anyway#post-281113 Tue, 04 Sep 2012 07:19:16 +0000 mrbee 281113@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Andrea: just killing time til the kids wake up. First day of daycare for Charlie and if I sleep, then I'll wake up at noon. So trying to just stay up... good thing I napped a bit yesterday! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/eating-food-to-avoid-anyway#post-281111 Tue, 04 Sep 2012 07:16:39 +0000 Andrea 281111@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrbee: no worries! You had me for a moment. I double checked the listeria list and I don't eat those! :-)</p> <p>Oh wait, you are posting from the tub? Morning bath? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/eating-food-to-avoid-anyway#post-281109 Tue, 04 Sep 2012 07:13:56 +0000 mrbee 281109@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Andrea: yup, was supporting your decision!</p> <p>Sorry I am posting from the tub in my iPhone so it's hard to write clearly! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/eating-food-to-avoid-anyway#post-281104 Tue, 04 Sep 2012 07:09:59 +0000 Andrea 281104@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrbee: I believe eating runny eggs and most recently, mangoes, is a salmonella risk and not listeria? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/eating-food-to-avoid-anyway#post-281100 Tue, 04 Sep 2012 07:06:34 +0000 blackbird 281100@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The only "rule" I follow is not eating undercooked meats and fish. That's the only rule my doctor gave me. So I'm eating everything I normally eat, save sushi and super undercooked meat. I ask for my steak to be medium, and I only get steak at a nice restaurant, where I'm unconcerned with the quality of the food. And i've had it...once so far? I would eat sushi if i lived on the coasts, where it's fresh, but I won't in the midwest. </p> <p>I also hate the "better safe than sorry" and "why risk it" fear-mongering campaigns. </p> <p>I just don't worry about my food. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/eating-food-to-avoid-anyway#post-281092 Tue, 04 Sep 2012 06:59:31 +0000 mrbee 281092@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Andrea: salmonella is a risk that is reasonable to take, I think. Listeria is a much more substantial risk.</p> <p>There's the risk of getting sick, and then there's the risk of what could happen to baby if you do get sick. With listeria, the second risk is pretty scary! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/eating-food-to-avoid-anyway#post-281081 Tue, 04 Sep 2012 06:48:52 +0000 T.H.O.U. 281081@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I agree that most likely those things aren't going to cause harm and its not worth a ton of stress to avoid everything. Unless you had a HUGE craving, is it so hard to avoid those things? To me it wasn't a big deal to make sure my steak was cooked well done for a few months, and avoid raw sushi for a while, etc. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/eating-food-to-avoid-anyway#post-281069 Tue, 04 Sep 2012 06:31:58 +0000 Andrea 281069@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Glad to see other people eating runny eggs, too. I've been feeling bad about eating them but I figure if you can get sick from eating fruit, nowadays, why not eat a runny egg? I was stickler in my first pregnancy but not this one. I've decided that the risks of actually getting sick from one of the No foods is very low. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/eating-food-to-avoid-anyway#post-281038 Tue, 04 Sep 2012 01:58:12 +0000 looch 281038@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I ate everything, including sushi, rare steak and runny eggs. Nothing was off limits, except some types of local lettuce in the first trimester, because of listeria risk. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/eating-food-to-avoid-anyway#post-281011 Mon, 03 Sep 2012 23:24:18 +0000 Mrs. High Heels 281011@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>the only thing i avoided was alcohol, but everything else i ate in moderation. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/eating-food-to-avoid-anyway#post-280981 Mon, 03 Sep 2012 21:53:00 +0000 CupQuakeWalk 280981@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I only avoided sushi because DH made me....other than that I ate what I wanted. Of course I didn't drink or take medications though </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/eating-food-to-avoid-anyway#post-280975 Mon, 03 Sep 2012 21:44:39 +0000 ladyfingers 280975@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Soft serve is on the no list because the machines it comes out of, if poorly cleaned, can build and transmit listeria. That being said, I totally order fast food shakes that come out of machines. I also still order dishes with goat cheese and queso fresco. I would probably order sushi but DH won't let me. Everything else (runny eggs, non-nuked cold cuts, rare mear) I'm too scared to try! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/eating-food-to-avoid-anyway#post-280974 Mon, 03 Sep 2012 21:43:31 +0000 MamaMoose 280974@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@softcream: My doc is fine with soft serve. The concern there is with bacteria growth if the machines aren't cleaned properly. I have eaten soft serve my whole pregnancy but I only get it a nicer places that I trust to be clean. So I would say as long as you aren't getting soft serve from somewhere like McDonalds don't worry about it! </p>