Another Pregnancy Question....

My doctor instructed me to stay away from "hot baths, hot tubs and hot dogs" and that included processed meats. He also included raw cheese, raw fish (sushi), rare meat and undercooked eggs.

My doctor just told me this the other day. He said that prepackaged meats were more risky than the deli counter. He also said that places like Subway are fine.

It's the listeria danger. Listeria effects pregnant woman and unborn babies more then the general population. Here is good information about that:

http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancycomplications/l...

Also, the nitrates in lunch meat are simply terrible for you and your baby.

The reason is due to listeria in the meats. Most of the time it won't bother a healthy person, but when you are pregnant it can harm the fetus and even cause death in utero. This happened to a co worker of mine. I didn't want to give up my sandwiches at work, so I just made sure to heat up the meat for 30 sec in the microwave. Not the best tasting solution and boy was I glad when I could stop it.

Listeria hits less than 1% of our 4 million citizens a year. I ate deli meats during BOTH pregnancies, I'm a Nurse and I definitely do not agree with making such a small - almost non existent risk - into a huge "Oh no pregnant ladies!! Here is something ELSE you can't eat/do/enjoy/etc".

If you are really so worried - then stop eating all meat, eggs and veggies... just look at the E.Coli and Salmonella outbreaks in just a SINGLE YEAR!! Much worse than listeria outbreaks!!

Truthfully - I'd keep eating what you are eating as long as it's in moderation and healthy. Ask your deli manager and Subway manager when the last known listeria outbreak was for the products/manufacturer they bought.

15 secs in the microwave (or intill steaming) and you're fine

I don't know, I think I heard this too. I ate Subway all the time when I was pregnant (better than eating cheeseburgers, right?!?) No problems! Because I just felt no deli meats seemed ridiculous. Do you think our parents really avoided deli meats?!

Hi J.,

Most deli meats have been processed. If it hasn't been processed it should be okay. The nitrates and nitrites are terribly dangerous so check for those. If you buy it at the deli, just ask... My favorite sandwich when I was pregnant was turkey and cranberry sauce but I baked my own turkey and it felt like Thanksgiving all through my pregnancy, lol.

Congratulations on your little one!
M.

My doctor actually said I didn't need to worry about it, however once I started reading about Listeria I freaked out! You are at a higher risk b/c you're pregnant but even the higher risk is barely a risk. Normally, rationally, it's not a big deal...BUT, pregnant mamas (including me, at the time!) sometimes have a tendency to be a little bit crazy, so I freaked myself out so much I basically avoided deli meats or I warmed them in the microwave. You could even buy a whole pound, warm it up, then put it back in the fridge and use it whenever. Plus, Subway and Quiznos can warm their sandwiches anyway, so I think it's fine.

You can eat anything as long as it's cooked throroughly. I was told that if I had it at a restaurant (Subway, Quiznos, etc.) I needed to get my sandwich "toasted." At home, I just threw it on the skillet on medium heat & cooked it for a while on both sides. The concern is the lysteria bacteria which can cause lysteriosis. Not a big deal for an adult, but for the baby, can be dangerous.

I was told by my Midwife to stop eating deli meats unless I cooked them. I personally dont like hot sandwiches so I stopped eating deli meats and sandwiches from places like Subway for the whole pregnancy. I told my hubby that as soon as our son was born I wanted a Ham sandwich and a Pepsi! Lol. And I got exactly that! It sucked to wait 9 months but the wait was worth it and better safe than sorry!

My doctor told me that I should avoid deli meats from the grocer's deli, but that packaged deli meats were okay as was Subway. I ate my grocer's deli meats a few times during each of my pregnancies (couldn't help it, just craved it) and everything was fine.

If it makes you feel better, follow the previous advice of heating the meat up in the microwave to make sure that the bacteria is killed.

I ate deli meat but in moderation, not daily.

So, you've pretty much gotten all the necessary information on listeria here. VERY scary stuff! Just this week, there's been a recall of cantaloupe from Colorado that has killed 4 people due to the listeria bacteria!

Here are my 2 cents and what I did in my pregnancies...I stopped eating lunchmeat from the deli counter and stuck with veggie subs (no sprouts!!) from Jimmy Johns or Subway. You can still have your sandwiches if you make them yourself from sealed, store-bought packaged deli meat.

HOWEVER, stick to the uncured "natural" meats that contain no nitrates/nitrites. Sodium nitrite, which is in almost all store-bought packaged and deli-counter meat and almost all hotdogs and smoked sausage, has been heavily linked to colon cancer and other nasty nasties. Hormel makes a great "Natural" line of sandwich meat and bacon that doesn't contain nitrates/nitrites and is readily available and affordable at Meijer and Jewel. Also, Oscar Mayer has their "Premium" & "Selects" hotdog varieties (available in turkey, angus, beef and weiners) that are nitrate/nitrite free as well! They taste the same as regular hotdogs to me, but they don't have the bad stuff. Just check the list of ingredients and if there is the word "nitrite" attached with anything else in there, it's not for you!

Chances are good that nothing will happen to you or your pregnancy if you eat deli meat sandwiches, but I'd sure hate to be that small percentage that does get affected. My motto with my pregnancies was always Better Safe Than Sorry!

Good luck!

When I was pregant with my 4th, my favorite thing to eat was a C2 combo-
salami, ham, cheese, shredded lettuce, tomatos and onion. Oh and for
dessert a Milky Way. I am surprised she was not born with shredded lettuce
in one hand and a Milky Way in the other! She was fine.

Yes, I was told to avoid deli meats for both pregnancies, my kids are now 5 1/2 and 2 1/2. I stopped eating it as soon as I found out I was preggo. As you probably know by reading the other responses (I'm assuming, but admittedly I haven't read any of them), the concern is listeria which you have a greatly reduced immunity to when you are pg. HOWEVER, as my OB/GYN always told me, it's all about level of risk. Women are having babies in the rice paddies with no prenatal care and doing just fine, so chances that you would negatively affect your pregnancy with a ham sandwich are low. Still, my approach was always to follow the "rules" whenever humanly possible. I felt like there were enough things that could go wrong in pregnancy which were outside of my control, whatever I COULD control I was going to. For me it was no sushi (which I love), no alcohol (also love, ha!), no hot dogs, no rare meat, none of the restricted fish or cheeses, and no lunchmeat. (I'm probably even forgetting a few things).

To each his own, I know many of my friends who ate deli sandwiches through their whole pregancies and didn't worry a wit. Everything went fine for them. But my perspective has never been "oh that'll never happen to me", it's always been "that would be just my luck!". You need to decide where your own comfort level lies and do what makes you most comfortable and gives you best peace of mind : )

I avoided deli meat, but in the summer, all I wanted was a cold turkey sandwich! I never gave in and was rewarded in the end. My first meal after delivering ended up being a turkey sandwich, and I liked it so much, they gave me another in the middle of the night! I was told to stay away from processed meats, as there is a higher risk of e-coli while pregnant. I was also told that as long as the meat was well cooked/heated immediately before eating, then it was fine (which negated the plan for COLD sandwiches)! So you can still eat hot dogs, bacon, and deli meat, but it needs to be cooked right before you eat it. When I went to barbeques that only served hot dogs, I either got one right off the grill, or took it to the microwave for 30 seconds. HTH!

My Doctor told me no deli meats or hot dogs. I went ahead and ate deli meat anyone and that one time I ate the deli meat I became sick so I stayed away from it from then on. It is just because bacteria grows on the deli meat while it sits out that's what my doctor told me.

My OB said no bologna or hot dogs....but everything else like ham, turkey, roast beef, etc. is fine. I've had 2 healthy kids and ate deli meat 5x per week with both.

I would talk to your ob/gyn and get their take, but like the previous poster, my dr said "moderation and quality". Don't get a deli sandwich somewhere shady and don't each it everyday. She said it's best to reduce the possibilty of listeria exposure if the meat is warmed, so have the Subway sandwich run through the toaster. Hot dogs and bolonga are more risky, so my ob/gyn said no to those though...

I ate all that stuff while pregnant, when I asked my provider about it they informed me that The chances of you getting listeria and the fetus dying is less likely than having conjoined twins. And then I looked it up and they were right.

It's all about moderation. Everything in moderation. Should you eat Deli meat every single day while your pregnant? No. If you had a sandwich once a week? I really don't see that being a big deal. With my first I craved Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches on white bread. I loved the bread sticking to the top of my mouth, like it did when I was a kid!:) No lie, I ate two sandwiches for breakfast and two more for lunch (with a glass of chocolate milk)! I am not a big girl, so bam! the first month I gained 10lbs! Should anyone eat that twice a day every day? No. I did, and my daughter was super healthy, she is now one of the smartest and smallest kids in her class and short just like her mom! With my second, I didn't want PB&J at all! I wish that I had. She has asthma and a peanut allergy. I really think that if I would have eaten more or at least some PB she wouldn't have this allergy. Everyone has their opinions, so it's hard to say. You could ask 10 doctors if it's okay if you eat deli meat and chances are you will get so many different answers, that you still won't know what you should do. Moderation is the key to any foods. No one should eat and one food every day so mix it up in to a good diet and you'll be fine.

Major packaged meat concern is Bologna follwed by the others that are packaged unlike the deli meat counter.I don't eat sandwhiches at home I love Quizno's,Subway but don't eat them often enough for me to be concerned about that I can become ill off one sandwhich.I love the BLTs from SubWay the bacon is warmed up & you can add veggies if you prefer that sandwhich instead of the deli meats.This isn't something new this is my 4th pregnancy in 9 years fromthe first to the last I was always given this information,if your OBs office gave you information on this read it & go to the website that offers more helpful information.But it is always wise to heat everything to a steam before eating it,cook everything to the temp it has to be at,don't eat under cooked meats or eggs,limit your fish intake,wash all fruits & veggies.I'm 11 weeks & relearning everything again since it all slips through after baby.