Essential Baby blogger Amity Dry
I was at a café the other day, starving as I usually am these days, yet I stood there for what seemed like an eternity trying to work out what I could actually eat from their sandwich bar options. The man behind the counter, becoming increasingly impatient with my umming and ahhing, began offering me suggestions.
The conversation went like this….
Him: “Ham and salad?”
Me: “Can’t have ham”
Him: “Chicken and avocado?”
Me: “Sounds delicious, cold cooked chicken is a no no though”
Him: “How about a smoked salmon bagel?”
Me: “Definitely not”
Him (obviously irritated) “How about a prosciutto and rocket panini?”
Me: “I’d kill for a prosciutto and rocket panini, but I can’t”
Him: “Why can’t you eat any of these things?”
Me: They’re all risks for Listeria, it can harm your baby if you get it.”
Him: “Listeria? Sounds like Hysteria to me”
Feeling sorry for myself, and to get out of there as quickly as possible, I settled for a plain bread roll while the aroma of grilling prosciutto tormented me.
Welcome to the world of Listeria Hysteria.
The festive season is a particularly bad time to be suffering from Listeria Hysteria, as I’ve discovered over the last few weeks. Bowls of giant king prawns and oysters that are devoured by everyone but you. Cold chickens and store bought coleslaws that turn relaxing picnics into a game of risk. Salads that feature little minefields of feta. Soft serve ice-creams that are strictly forbidden and platters of creamy brie, pate and prosciutto that mock you with their very existence.
All of these foods, delicious as they may seem, strike fear into the heart of pregnant women, as they carry a risk to their un-born babies. But are they really a risk or are we all just too paranoid?
Many older women will remark to you that they never knew about listeria in their day and yet all carried healthy babies to term. I envy their naivety. In fact, my own obstetrician informed me that in all his years of practice he had never had a patient with listeria, so not to stress about it too much. Yet the risk is still there and I have no intention of being his first.
Having said that, I am not as paranoid as I was with my first pregnancy, when I actually spit out a bite of sandwich suspecting it had ricotta in it. Turns out it was cream cheese, which is allowed, but I refused to eat it anyway. No sandwich was going to hurt my baby, thank you very much.
Most women I know are more relaxed about it with subsequent pregnancies though, with one friend of mine deciding that her beloved sushi was a risk she was prepared to take. Yet, after suffering from miscarriages in the attempt to have this baby the threat feels more real to me now. So as much as I want to dig into those juicy prawns, I want my baby more.
Which brings me to drinking. Again, the festive season is not the easiest time to be abstaining, but we do because it’s what's best for our baby. But are pregnant women really abstaining as much as they should?
The recommendation by both the World Health Organisation and the Australian Government is that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy, so abstaining is the safest approach.
Yet that message has changed over the years and most women will tell you that their own obstetrician informed them that a glass here and there will not do any harm. And most pregnant women I know take that advice on board, indulging in a glass now and then without any guilt.
With my first pregnancy I abstained completely. This was made easier when my senses rejected alcohol entirely, with even the smell of it off putting to me. However, this time around I have not been as lucky and a cold glass of wine on a warm summers night is still as tempting as ever. But I have been surprised by the attitude of others towards me drinking that wine. When I turn it down I often find people, even pregnant women, assuring me that one glass won’t hurt and encouraging me to enjoy it.
Perhaps it’s because those women are on their second and third pregnancies and are therefore more relaxed in general. Maybe they are a bit older and less influenced by big brother telling them what to do. Or perhaps they just realised that generations of women had a glass here and there while pregnant and it did their children no harm.
I should point out here that I am talking about very minimal amount of alcohol. We all know the devastating effects binge drinking can have on an unborn baby and would never condone something that can cause life long physical and mental damage to a child. But is it right to forbid all pregnant women the occasional drink because some cannot do it responsibly?
On another point, it becomes extremely evident when you’re not drinking just how much our culture revolves around the consumption of alcohol. Every social and celabatory occasion is focused on it and it’s very easy to feel left out when you are not part of that. Feel free to vent about that, all you pregnant women and non drinkers out there!
But for me, for the next 17 weeks, I’ll have the odd glass on special occasions and the rest of the time I’ll politely refuse both a drink and all those yummy but risky foods. And I will have a platter of prawns, prosciutto, goats cheese and brie with a glass of cold bubbles in the hospital!
After all, it’s not a long time to resist and a small price to pay for a healthy baby. And at least us women have strong will power, as was illustrated by my husband when he offered me a glass the other day and I reminded him, again, that I wasn’t drinking.
Him: “So you can’t drink at all for nine months?” Incredulously, as if we’d never had this discussion before.
Me: “That's right, I’m sacrificing for the sake of our baby.”
Him, shuddering in horror: “Men could SO not be pregnant.”
Now that’s the understatement of the year!
What is your attitude towards eating and drinking while pregnant? Did you take the risk with listeria foods? Did you continue to drink and, if so, how much? Do you think the guidelines are reasonable? And do you feel left out if you can't drink at social functions? Let's have a discussion...
