Instead of giving us information like "Listeria is a bad to contract while pregnant, be sure to only eat fresh deli meats."
... they put forth the rule "Do not eat deli meat."
... and "Do not eat hot dogs."
Instead of giving us information like "Heavy drinking of alcohol can cause fetal damage"
... they put forth the rule "Do not let a drop of alcohol touch your tongue."
Instead of giving us information like "Raw/Rare foods can cause you to be very sick, so be careful when eating sushi and rare meats."
... they put forth the rule "Do ~not~ eat sushi! All meats should be cooked to well done!."
It's like they use scare tactics instead of telling women the truth. I have seen the craziest comments from my fellow pregnant girls. They COOK their lunchmeat to steaming. They are honestly scared if they accidentally had some beer battered onion rings. They cook their meats until burned.
Those things are simply not necessary. Look, I agree that I wouldn't eat sushi at a place I was unfamiliar with. I wouldn't eat lunchmeat I didn't know where it came from. I wouldn't order a rare steak at Denny's. But I eat lunchmeat I buy and I ~know~ is fresh. I eat hotdogs when I'm in control of their temperature. I eat rare steaks from high end steakhouses and at home. I eat raw fish sushi from the sushi place I've gone to for the past 12 years.
And guess what? I even drink alcohol on a special occassion!! Yes, it's true. I actually had a guinness last week when I visited my best friend to throw her a bridal shower. I don't drink everyday. Hell, I haven't even had a beer since I got my BFP. But I don't think drinking very rarely is a problem at all. In regards to fetal alcohol syndrome, they don't really know what the amount of alcohol is that can cause damage to the fetus. But I do know it's more than 2 or 3 drinks in a 9 month period. It's probably even more than a glass of wine everyday (like women in italy partake) but I'm not going to chance that. I would NEVER do something that I was unsure of in regards to harming my unborn child. And I know, without a doubt, that one cup of beer, every few months, to celebrate a special occassion, is FINE.
And like I said, it was only ONE cup.
30 comments:
Yeah, what is with the terror approach? You see a lot of the same type of tactics with STIs. Instead of giving women good, solid, scientifically backed evidence and recommendations based thereon, people spew fear.
From what I heard, doctors in France recommend a daily glass of red wine for relaxation and health benefits. So pregnancy rules are very much particular to each culture.
LOL! That is one nice sized cup too. ;)
While I agree it's stupid and annoying, I think a lot of doctors use these scare tactics to cover their own ass *just in case* something goes wrong. I prefer to look at the statistics and make my own choices.
That's one helluva cup!
AH! If you can't finish that cup, you can pass it to me! LOL
Like they say, "everything in moderation". Trying to scare someone into thinking they can't have deli meat isn't going to help, it's going to cause stress...and as we know, stress isn't good either.
That is hysterical! I always said that I didn't drink while pregnant because having just one drink is such a tease. But it never crossed my mind that I could just get a bigger glass!
My dad is a MD and he told me, if I ate bloody steaks before I was preggo, it is ok to eat them whil preggo. He thought the lunch meat thing was silly too and he delivered babies from the 70s til 1992.
LMFAO - I ~puffy heart~ you.
I agree with you totally. Constant fear-mongering. I had 3 years in between my pregnancies and I remember thinking there were a lot more rules in the second than the first.
When our mothers were pregnant with us, no one thought anything of having an occasional drink. Nowadays, people line up to stone you for a cup of coffee, never mind alcohol. People love to judge, especially pregnant women/mothers.
When I was pregnant, I remember seeing all these women completely freak out over cheese, lunchmeat, whatever. Yes, there is a tiny risk involved, but the risk of getting into your car and driving to work (or wherever) everyday and getting into an accident, is much greater and no one gives a second thought to driving. Although the pregnancy police might come after that someday too.
--Kristin
LOVE this post. Thank you! So nice to see that I'm not the only one that doesn't respond well to being told what not to do.
Hey Nancy,
I think it comes down to that Americans have been made to not use their brains in recent years. Look at all the warning labels on everything, from a blow dryer to a cup of coffee. We are such a litigous society that if we aren't warned of a potential danger, than we're going to find someone accountable and sue their pants off. Ridiculous? You bet! Necessary? Unfortunately.
It's a sad state of affairs that are facing Americans these days, and we truly have only ourselves to blame.
If I were a drinker, I'd like that cup size! lol
Right on sister!
I attended my High School Reunion over the weekend and indulged in a nice big glass of merlot, the first time I have drank in nearly 6 months....and damn it was good!
I also go out and have tasty soft serve ice cream and buy my boars head deli meats and eat desserts prepared with raw or under cooked egg.....
Does it make me a rebel?
It is only one cup...
And I have no idea how much my mom did or didn't drink when she was pregnant with me and I turned out firly normal, I think!
Nice delivery on the cup, lol! And I'm with you - taken with caution, all of that can be done if done smartly. Avoiding everything and anything is just crazy.
AMEN! I completely and totally agree with your entire post. I had a glass of wine a couple of times while pregnant. I enjoyed hot dogs, deli meats, and sushi. There is a difference between buying fresh deli meat and buying a ham sandwich from some dirty gas station.
My attitude was to do everything I could to keep my baby safe - within reason. It's not reasonable to live in a bubble for 9 months and freak out over eating Doritos (yes, there was a WebMD post about Doritos back in the day...) So while I would not go bungee jumping while pregnant, I wasn't afraid to eat a big juicy hot dog when I felt like it :)
Thanks so much for the laugh...I really needed it! Although I'm sure you were really being serious about the "rules" and I agree with you on them 100%!
Ha ha... funny girl.
In all seriousness though, (and I know I've expressed my feelings on this topic here before) I am in total agreement with you on this. And I consume the **danger** foods like you do - wisely and in moderation.
HA!! That is too funny.
Anytime I read a stupid warning (like don't use the hair dryer while taking a bath) I always think to myself - the reason that warning is there is because someone has done it.
Yes, we're surrounded by idiots.
LMAO I love the cup... now that's my kind of cup!
I'm a terrible pregnant lady. I rebel against rules. The only thing I've given up is lifting certain things and mowing the lawn, lol. And that's only because the hubby got REALLY upset with me.
Yay Nancy! You are so right!
When I was pregnant, I couldn't get enough deli meat & hot dogs! Seriously, they are almost the only thing I ate (read: stayed down!) when pregnant. Okay, maybe it was once a week!
HA! I'm loving that picture!!
I ate soft cheese, lunchmeat, and runny eggs when pregnant ... and probably more. There has been a lot of press down here lately about the 'scare' tactics on pregnant women, which has been refreshing.
I also went to a LOT of rehabs, and saw pregnant women trying to get clean and sober at the end of their pregnancies. They had used and drank their way through ... abhorent, yet the babies always ended up fine.
Babies are strong lil critters, amazingly able to withstand a lot. And it takes a SHITLOAD of daily drinking to develop fetal alcohol syndrome.
LOL! Just one cup...
I didn't follow all the meat rules when pg. I don't drink anyway, so that was a non issue. My Dr. only advised against seafood.
It's funny that you bring this up now. Last Thursday night we were at a concert with my parents (don't even get me started on my boss who said "you're pregnant, you can't go out!"). They brought a bottle of wine (which is allowed at this particular venue). My dad opened it and was about to hand it to me and said "wait, you're pregnant, you can't have any!" to which my mom replied "she can have a little!"
Didn't matter because I haven't felt like drinking AT ALL since I got pregnant, but if I did feel like it, would definitely have accepted a little wine.
(giggle) Love the picture.
Next there will be a study proving that anxiety over what you expose your unborn child to is the leading cause of, oh, low birthweight, ADHD, low IQ..... and then pregnant women can become anxious over whether or not they are too anxious. (My youngest child is 26. I think I have some retroactive worrying to do.)
Love the cup. :)
I also love your way of thinking, kind of getting away from the insanity and focusing more on your individual assessment and needs. Unfortunately, there are so many um, blockheads I guess? (sorry, worked 12h nightshift and have yet to be able to sleep, not so politically correct at the moment!) that for some people to truly "get it" it has to be said in such stark terms. It's frustrating. Also totally agree that our society is so ready to bring a lawsuit against anybody for anything. Glad you aren't one of them. :)
Hilarious!! Yes, I was scared to eat hotdogs, but I gave that up this past saturday at a bbq b/c I just love them and wanted to eat one bad! Yes, and I do still heat up deli meat. LOL!
I agree with Kaci...Doctors want to cover their butts. With the American Pasttime being suing..you can't blame them.
Can you play flip cups with those???
Kim
Tee Hee. Also, totally agree with your point!
The pic is hilarious! That's my idea of a cup! ;-)
Yeah, the extreme warning go overboard as far as I'm concerned. I've had deli-subs a couple of times and I've still got two growing babies inside.
Post a Comment