Deli meats not allowed during pregnancy?

[Claudia1]

A friend had her first OB appt (her second child) and she said they told her no deli meat unless is was steamed or boiled, including bologna.

Huh?

Can anybody enlighten me or set her straight?

Thanks!

 

[MareQ]

She's correct. Because of the danger of Listeria - not to mention Nitrates - Pregnant women are advise to avoid deli meats.

 

[lecach]

Yep - I was told the same thing. Its because of a bacteria called Listeria. It can be very harmful to unborn babies. It's the same thing in soft cheeses which women are also told to stay away from.

 

[Christine]

Yep, this is correct because of Listeria.

 

[helenabear]

It's really not become that big of a deal for me, but yep it is true. As long as the meat is steaming (microwave, grill... etc) you are fine. That one has been told for a long time (around here at least) so that one wasn't as shocking as a few other things I read when I first got pregnant.

 

[Green Tea]

When I was in the ante partum unit for a while prior to a complicated birth, a woman came in and did had the baby really early. Yep, listeria from lunch meat.

Can I add though, that if she was told by her doctor to avoid something, why would you try to set her straight? Pregnancy advice is usually pretty dependable when it comes from the health cate provider.

 

[vettechick99]

My doc said it was no big deal. He said there is a small risk, but it's also important that you eat and if lunchmeat is all you can stomach, eat it.

Sometimes I steamed mine, othertimes not. If the meat is fresh, you are ok.

 

[Laura]

Can I add though, that if she was told by her doctor to avoid something, why would you try to set her straight? Pregnancy advice is usually pretty dependable when it comes from the health cate provider.

I was wondering that too.

 

[RVGal]

Pregnant women have a much higher risk of becoming seriously ill due to listeria (something like 20% maybe) and the woman probably won't suffer near as much as the newborn will.

She was probably also told to wash all fruits and vegetables THOROUGHLY before cutting them and/or eating them. My OB used to say, "Wash before you cut or the listeria can just transfer from the skin to your knife to the part of the fruit that you eat."

Listeria is found it soil and water, so it can be found in all manner of foods. Most healthy adults can fight the bacteria naturally. For pregnant women, most healthcare providers will tell you that it isn't worth the increased risk to the unborn just for a hotdog or luncheon meat.

 

[lesroi]

My OB said no to lunchmeat as well. I don't really care for lunchmeat when I am not pregnant so it was not a huge deal, but she also said no to hotdogs. I would practically kill someone for a grilled cheesedog at this point, lol! Yummy!

My stepmother said "oh how things have changed!" Regardless, there is still plenty of stuff to eat. I can't imagine that if you "can't keep anything down" that lunchmeat would be high on your list. In fact, I haven't had any nausea or vomiting, and just the sight or smell of lunchmeat is not appetizing AT ALL. Of course, who knows what your friend might be craving, lol!

Good luck and congrats to your friend!

Tracy

 

[DMickey28]

I NEVER heard the hotdog thing. Makes sense if you think about it but why can't you eat a boiled or steamed dog???

I can't tell you how many Chili Cheesedogs I ate that the end of my pregnancy!!

 

[dcgrumpy]

Everything I've heard says it's all right as long as the meat is heated. Who eats cold hot dogs?

 

[RVGal]

You can eat a hotdog if it is cooked/steamed.

I got curious, since the pregnancy rules tend to fall out of my memory now that I'm not pregnant anymore, and looked it up.

From the CDC:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/listeriosis_g.htm

 

[vettechick99]

I was wondering that too.

Not to put words in her mouth, but I think she's asking because it sounds crazy. The first time I heard it I was also confused. And let's not forget some doctors are very conservative and others (like mine) just ask you to use common sense - don't eat meat that's been sitting out, looks sketchy, and when you can, use precaution.

But like the other poster said, I was not into lunchmeat either the first few months. So it might be a non-issue!

 

[mumom95]

My body must have known something. During my second pregnancy I had such an aversion to lunch meat that just sitting next to someone eating a sandwich would make me feel like I was going to throw up. My poor husband had to take PB&J to work everyday because I couldn't stand to even have it in the house.

 

[Claudia1]

I mis-worded my "set her straight" statement. I meant that maybe the info was misunderstood, not that I would ever suggest contradicting her OB or staff. My linguistic error.

Sorry for the confusion..... thanks for bringing it to my attention.

And thanks for all of the great info. It's new to me!

 

[lesroi]

You can eat a hotdog if it is cooked/steamed.

I got curious, since the pregnancy rules tend to fall out of my memory now that I'm not pregnant anymore, and looked it up.

From the CDC:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/listeriosis_g.htm

Unfortunately, the cooking doesn't get rid of the nitrites in hot dogs. Grrrr. My doc still says no due to the nitrite risk and I suppose it is a small sacrifice to make. Of course, it's probably also that since she said I can't have it I want it more!!! I would be in BIG TROUBLE if we had a Weinerschnitzel here. Thank goodness we moved!


Tracy

 

[aladdinsgirl]

So you can't eat lunch meat OR peanut butter, what the heck are you supposed to eat for lunch when you are pregnant??

 

[mtemm]

I used to cook a turkey breast and use that for sandwiches. egg salad can be very good, if you can stomach it. grilled chicken breast is good. there are tons to eat instead of deli/hot dog type food.

 

[SamIAm21]

Well, I never heard about the peanut butter thing and boy I ate PB&Js like crazy when I was pregnant. PB&J and Ovaltine were like the food of the Gods when I was pregnant. I didn't hear anything about the whole allergy thing until after my daughter was born. Luckily though, she has no peanut allergies.

I remember being very afraid to eat things like salmon and tuna due to the mercury issues. Of course, what did I crave... TUNA! ARrrghhh!