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Answer
Food and Drinks to Avoid During Pregnancy
As mentioned earlier, avoid alcohol. No level of alcohol consumption is considered safe during pregnancy. Also, check with your doctor before you take any vitamins or herbal products. Some of these can be harmful to the developing fetus.
-And although many doctors feel that one or two 6- to 8-ounce cups per day of coffee, tea, or soda with caffeine won't harm your baby, it's probably wise to avoid caffeine altogether if you can. High caffeine consumption has been linked to an increased risk of miscarriage, so limit your intake or switch to decaffeinated products.
When you're pregnant, it's also important to avoid food-borne illnesses, such as listeriosis and toxoplasmosis, which can be life-threatening to an unborn baby and may cause birth defects or miscarriage. Foods you'll want to steer clear of include:
* soft, unpasteurized cheeses (often advertised as "fresh") such as feta, goat, Brie, Camembert, and blue cheese
* unpasteurized milk, juices, and apple cider
* raw eggs or foods containing raw eggs, including mousse and tiramisu
* raw or undercooked meats, fish, or shellfish
* processed meats such as hot dogs and deli meats (these should be well-cooked)
* fish that are high in mercury, including shark, swordfish, king mackeral, or tilefish
If you've eaten these foods at some point during your pregnancy, try not to worry too much about it now; just avoid them for the remainder of the pregnancy. If you're really concerned, talk to your doctor.
About Fish. Fish and shellfish can be an extremely healthy part of your pregnancy diet â they contain beneficial omega-3 fatty acids, and are high in protein and low in saturated fat. But limit the types of fish you eat while pregnant because some contain high levels of mercury, which can cause damage to the developing nervous system of a fetus. Mercury, which occurs naturally in the environment, is also released into the air through industrial pollution and can accumulate in streams and oceans, where it turns into methylmercury. The methylmercury builds up in fish, especially those that eat other fish.
Because canned albacore (or white) tuna and tuna steaks are generally considered to be higher in mercury than canned light tuna, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that you eat no more than 6 ounces a week. A 2006 review by Consumer Reports, though, showed that some canned light tuna can contain levels of mercury even higher than that of white tuna. But the FDA maintains that the levels are safe if consumption of the fish is limited, and that the current recommendations should stand.
It can be confusing when recommendations from trusted sources differ. But since this analysis indicates that amounts of mercury in tuna may be higher than previously reported, some women may want to eliminate tuna from their diet while pregnant or when trying to become pregnant. Almost all fish and shellfish contain small amounts of mercury, but you can safely eat those with consistently low mercury levels (like salmon, shrimp, clams, and tilapia). Talk with your doctor if you have any questions about how much â and which fish â you can eat
source: http://kidshealth.org/parent/nutrition_f...
t's important to know which foods are safe to eat and which you need to avoid while pregnant. Eat a safe pregnancy diet, and learn about safe food storage and handling by following these tips from the Clemson University Agricultural Extension.
Don't eat:
* Raw meat such as sushi, seafood, rare or uncooked beef, or poultry because of the risk of contamination with coliform bacteria, toxoplasmosis, and salmonella.
* Raw eggs, or foods containing raw egg such as Caesar dressing, mayonnaise, homemade ice cream or custard, unpasteurized eggnog, or Hollandaise sauce because raw eggs may be contaminated with salmonella.
* Soft cheese such as blue cheese, feta, Brie, Camambert, and Latin-American soft white cheeses such as queso blanco and queso fresco because they may harbor harmful bacteria.
* Fish containing accumulated levels of mercury in their fatty tissues such as shark, swordfish, king mackerel, tilefish.
# When a pregnant woman consumes large amounts of mercury, her baby may suffer brain damage resulting in developmental delays (for example, delays in learning to walk or talk).
# Fish containing high levels of an industrial pollutant called polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in their fatty tissues such as bluefish and striped bass, and freshwater fish such as salmon, pike, trout, walleye from contaminated lakes and rivers. According to the March of Dimes, consumption of large amounts of PCBs by pregnant women is linked to decreased attention, memory, and IQ in their babies. Check with your local Health Department to determine which fish in your area are safe to eat.
# According to the March of Dimes, deli meats have led to outbreaks of a form of food poisoning called Listeriosis, that is particularly harmful to fetuses. While the risk is low, you may want to thoroughly reheat deli meats to an internal temperature of 165 degrees (including hot dogs) or avoid them altogether.
# Minimize the amount of liver you eat. According to the March of Dimes, animal liver contains very high levels of vitamin A. While vitamin A is good for you, women who consume too much may risk a higher incidence of birth defects in their babies (however, studies are not conclusive). Since you're probably already taking prenatal vitamins and eating other vitamin A-containing foods, it's better to be safe and not consume liver on a regular basis. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recommended has that pregnant woman maintain their vitamin A intake around 8,000 IU and that vitamin A be taken in the form of beta-carotene, which is not considered toxic.
# According to the FDA, consumption of artificial sweeteners is safe for the general public. No studies show conclusively that it's harmful to consume artificial sweeteners during pregnancy. However, this is a personal decision, and for your peace of mind--and just to be on the safe side--you might decide to limit your consumption of artificial sweeteners during pregnancy. Instead, substitute fruit juice with sparkling water when you need a light, refreshing drink.
# According to a 1999 U.S. Health and Human Services press release, raw sprouts have led to some incidents of salmonella outbreaks. They advise that pregnant women eat sprouts that are cooked, or avoid eating them altogether.
source: http://pregnancy.about.com/cs/nutritioni...
read this articles;
- Pregnancy Diet Don'ts
Foods to Avoid While You're Expecting
source: http://att.iparenting.com/pregnancy/diet...
- A Nutrition Primer for Expectant Mothers
source: http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/nutriti...
is food poisin really bad during pregnancy?
Gilbert
my daughter had bacon, egg and corn beef hash for breakfast this morning and since then she has been have diarrhea and really bad cramps here and there.
Answer
"Food poisoning" is a very generic word and unless we know the precise nature of the illness and the causative agent, it would be difficult to say if it would present a hazard to a pregnancy.
Some foodborne infections, such as those which might be encountered in restaurants or at home, result in mild gastrointestinal discomfort with no consequences for the mother or baby. Some, however, pose a significant threat depending upon the type of infection, the seriousness of the infection and the health of the mother.
In general, many of us are exposed to foodborne pathogens every day. Unless we are very young or old -- or our immunity is compromised -- we usually do fine. We may or may not experience the typical symptoms such as nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.
Some argue that pregnancy represents a compromise in immunity. Actually in some cases, immunity is heightened. But the pregnancy does involve another, usually more vulnerable, patient -- the fetus. Depending upon his or her reserves, antibody status, gestational age and preexisting uterine environment, the baby may be adequately or inadequately prepared to weather the insult. In general, if the mother weathers the illness with no ill effects, her fetus is in better position to do the same.
Two key elements are favorable in your case. It was fairly early in your pregnancy, but not during a period of rapid cell development and you have apparently suffered no ill effects. Since you did not have a significant illness yourself requiring hospitalization, and you did not miscarry, the insult was probably minor. You did not acquire an infection in the amniotic fluid and did not give birth through a birth canal that might have active infection with a pathogen. These factors are all in your favor.
The anaerobic bacterium Clostridium botulinum produces the most potent food-related toxin known to humans. Although the effects of botulinum toxin are well documented, little is known about the effects of the toxin on the developing fetus. I found reports of two cases of botulism during pregnancy, both occurring in the third trimester. In the first report, the pregnancy was complicated by partial placental separation and precipitous delivery at 34-weeks-gestation; the infant had no evidence of botulism. In the second report, the infant of a long-term heroin user was delivered by cesarean section at 34-weeks-gestation and required several weeks of intensive care.
Botulinum toxin is a large molecule and is unlikely to diffuse passively across the placental membrane; however, it is not known whether an active transport mechanism exists or whether the neuromuscular effects of the toxin on pregnant women could affect fetal well-being. In one case report of botulism during the second trimester of pregnancy, there was no evidence of either transport of toxin across the placental barrier or ill effects of maternal neuromuscular compromise on the fetus.
Clostridium perfringens is another type of foodborne infection and, depending upon when it occurs, can lead to miscarriage and systemic infection and massive vascular collapse.
In the March 1997 issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases, they evaluated the relationship of vaginal E. coli colonization to birth weight and other perinatal complications. Vaginal E. coli colonization was more strongly associated with delivery at less than 34-weeks and with very low birth weight. Heavy growth of E. coli had a higher risk of very low birth weight than light growth. Researchers concluded that it may be important to screen and treat pregnant women for genital tract colonization with E. coli during prenatal care. You could ask your care provider to perform a vaginal culture for E.coli. E. coli is also the primary cause of kidney infections in non-pregnant patients accounting for about 70 to 90 percent of infections.
I would think this event would present no ill effects on the baby but of course your own care provider could provide the best screening and counsel. Your local public health department might also be a good resource for you.
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