Pregnant at Christmas – what can I eat?

How exciting you at pregnant at Christmas. What will you be eating, read on for some hints and tips. Christmas is just around the corner and it’s tradition in our household to stock up on lots of yummy treats to enjoy over the festive period.  We’re very lucky that our families live close by and spend Christmas Day and Boxing Day visiting our loved ones and then come home again in the evenings, to put our feet up, watch Christmas telly and enjoy a few bits and bobs to nibble on.

Pate, Brie and Prawns are big on the list of things to stock up on as well as lots of other lovely bits.  But being nearly 18 weeks pregnant I had a major sulk recently because I won’t  be ‘allowed’ to eat some of my usual loves – at least that’s what I thought!

What to avoid

So let’s start at the beginning, what should us expectant mummy’s be avoiding if we want to stick to the rules and keep our baby super safe?  According to the NHS it’s something like this…..

• Some types of cheese
• Raw or partially cooked eggs – The big kid in me loves runny eggs and soldiers
• Cold cured meats
• Supplements containing Vit A
• Raw Shellfish
• Peanuts
• Pate – Pate on toast is just delicious!
• Raw or undercooked meat
• Liver
• Some types of fish
• Sushi
• Unpasteurised milk
• Caffine – yikes especially when your more tired than even when pregnant!

So the list above looks pretty gloomy but if you do visit the website it goes into a little more detail and there are some joys after all! Woo hoo!

Now firstlty I can stop sulking over missing out on prawn cocktails (my mouth is watering already!) because all I need to do is cook them.  Raw shellfish is dodgy but cook it and hey presto your good to go!

The cheese topic is a different matter.  The NHS say not to eat mould-ripened soft cheese, such as brie and camembert whether it’s made with cows’ or goats’ milk.   When asking advice from local mums it opened a whole can of worms and people had many different opinions.  Some say that Brie and Camembert should be fine if pasteurised (which you can buy in some supermarkets), other’s said to bake it to kill the bacteria and some said to do both and cut of the rind!  Eek – is it best to just avoid it all together?

Let’s move on to alcohol over Christmas if you’re pregnant!  I’m not a bigger drinker at all, not even at Christmas but it would be nice to have a few tipples.  From what I’ve read drinking alcohol during the first 3 months of pregnancy isn’t dangerous – which is surprising when that’s the most worrying time about if you’ll suffer a miscarriage.  The NHS say if you choose to drink, then 1-2 units, once or twice a week should be ‘OK’ and it’s a no brainer that getting completely drunk is not going to be good for your baby at all!

So how will I be scoffing my face over Christmas?   Personally I’ll avoid the Pate all together, it’s not worth the risk and I know I won’t be able to stop at having just a little bit – I’ll want to eat it all until it’s gone.

I’ll have some cooked Brie and Camembert and cut of the rind, was never really that bothered by it anyway but I will be enjoying many prawn cocktails all to my little self, whilst expecting first dibs on the box of chocolates so I get the best ones – I am carrying a baby, I think there should be some rights!

Alcohol wise, I’ll join in with a glass of this or that at the dinner table and toast at New Year (not that I’ll be able to stay awake until Midnight), but will just fill half a glass and stay clear of the strong stuff.

But how do you feel about all the rules?  How do you feel about pregnant woman smoking, are you pregnant and still smoking?  Are you worried?

Comment below and tell us what you think!  You don’t need to have a website to be able to comment and we won’t email you either – it’s just a geeky website formality 😉

Written by Selina Shrimpton – Little Pickles Market Organiser – Dorset

Disclaimer: These are my personal findings. When pregnant yours and your baby’s health is a priority so please take advice from your own Health Care Professional.

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