Diet taboos during pregnancy

Undercooked meat/eggs/seafood, dairy products that have not been pasteurized or pasteurized, alcohol in any form. The rest of the statements that everyone often hears, such as "can't eat crabs", "can't touch coffee", and "can't eat hawthorns", are either based on individual constitutions or different academic opinions. There is no need to impose blanket taboos.

Two months ago, my best friend, who was 12 weeks pregnant, went for NT. The day before, she secretly ate half-cooked salmon from a Japanese restaurant. She casually mentioned it to the doctor and was severely criticized on the spot for a long time - it's not that the sashimi itself is bad, but that it's not fully cooked aquatic products, poultry, and eggs. There is a probability of carrying Listeria and Toxoplasma gondii. Ordinary people have sufficient immunity. After infection, they will have diarrhea for up to two days. Hormones in pregnant mothers change and their immunity is much lower than that of ordinary people. Once infected, it may cause uterine contractions and abdominal pain in mild cases, or may cause fetal malformation and miscarriage in severe cases. The risks are real. I have also seen a pregnant mother who was greedy for home-cooked soft-boiled eggs and was infected with salmonella. She had diarrhea for three days and was almost hospitalized. There is really no need to take risks like this. No matter how much you love to eat, you will have the opportunity to eat it after giving birth.

Along with these raw foods, unpasteurized dairy products are on the absolute blacklist. Don’t believe that “freshly milked milk is more nutritious”. Raw milk that has not been sterilized, even if you see the cows being milked, may contain a lot of pathogenic bacteria. There have been news reports that pregnant mothers drank milk from their own cows and were infected with Listeria and gave birth prematurely. There are also soft cheeses and handmade cheeses sold in supermarket freezers. When buying them, be sure to check the packaging. If they are not labeled "pasteurized" or "high temperature sterilized," just put them back.

As for alcohol, there is no room for bargaining. At present, the obstetrics and gynecology community around the world has not found a "safe intake" of alcohol during pregnancy. Even a sip of red wine, a spoonful of fermented wine, or a few pieces of alcoholic chocolate may enter the fetus through the placenta, increasing the risk of fetal alcohol syndrome. Don't believe what the older generation says "drinking less to stimulate blood circulation is good for the child." If something goes wrong, it will be too late to regret it.

Except for these three things that must be avoided for sure, the remaining "pregnancy taboos" that everyone spreads so magically are actually mostly gray areas of "discuss on a case-by-case basis", and the opinions in different fields vary greatly. For example, crabs, hawthorns, and barley are the most frequently asked questions. Traditional Chinese medicine theory does believe that these foods are cold in nature and have the effect of activating blood circulation. Pregnant mothers with weak constitutions and a history of miscarriage are best to avoid them completely. ； But from the perspective of modern nutrition, as long as you are not allergic to these foods and do not suffer from gastrointestinal deficiency and coldness, eating one or two crabs and one or two hawthorns at a time will not cause any risk of "slippage" at all. I have a colleague who is in her second trimester. During the hairy crab season, she was really greedy and ate two steamed crabs. During the prenatal check-up, everything was normal. However, a pregnant mother who is prone to diarrhea ate less than half of an ice crab and had diarrhea for two days and almost caused uterine contractions. To put it bluntly, the risk of this kind of food is not the food itself, but your own physical intolerance.

There is also coffee, which is the most frequently asked question. In the past, everyone always said that you should not take a sip of coffee during pregnancy. Now the guidelines of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the WHO clearly state that the daily caffeine intake of pregnant mothers does not exceed 200 mg (about the amount of a medium cup of regular-strength American coffee, or the amount of two cups of instant coffee), which is completely safe. However, many obstetricians in China will recommend that you try not to drink it during the first trimester. After all, different people have different caffeine metabolism abilities. If you don’t have the habit of drinking coffee, there is no need to go out of your way to drink it. ； But if you used to drink it every day, but suddenly stop completely and you get headaches, anxiety, and can't eat, then you can drink half a cup a day, which will be better for your baby than having a bad mood.

Oh, by the way, there are also many outrageous taboos that have been passed down for many years, such as "Babies who eat rabbit meat will get harelips", "Babies who eat mutton will get epilepsy", "Babies who eat soy sauce will have dark skin". These are purely cause and effects that were made up when medical conditions were poor in the past and the cause of the disease was unclear. There is no scientific basis for it. When my cousin was pregnant, she ate boiled mutton every now and then during the winter. The baby she gave birth to was as white as a glutinous rice dumpling, and there was no problem.

I have met many pregnant mothers who were very anxious after pregnancy. They compared the fasting lists on the Internet one by one and did not dare to touch even a spicy stick. In fact, it is really unnecessary. Except for those three foods that must not be touched, as long as you eat other foods without discomfort or excess, it is perfectly fine to satisfy your cravings occasionally. For example, if you really want to eat hot pot, you only need to cook the meat and vegetables. If you want to eat ice cream, it will not hurt if you eat half a stick when it is hot. After all, a pregnant mother is in a good mood, which is more important than anything else.

Of course, if you have underlying diseases, such as gestational diabetes, you should definitely avoid high-sugar cakes and milk tea.； If you are allergic to foods such as mangoes and seafood, you must not eat them during pregnancy. For such individualized taboos, just listen to your own obstetrician, which is more reliable than watching ten short videos. To put it bluntly, pregnancy is not a jail sentence, and there is no need to make yourself miserable. Just remember the three absolute taboos and do the rest as you feel comfortable.