Thought for food

[pezzae]

One of the things about being pregnant is I'm thinking about food more. In months 2 and 3, though I didn't get morning sickness nearly as badly as some friends, I had to make myself eat most meals because I either felt not hungry or slightly nauseous all the time. Then there's all the stressing about listeria and salmonella and mercury meaning

Comments

[etfb]

You'd be pregant, then?

Hmm. Shows how well I'm keeping up.

Congratulations!

[etfb]

Naah, on second thoughts, I just checked your LJ, and there's no mention of your blessed state right back to February last year. So you've been quiet about it (and I'm not shockingly unobservant).

[pezzae]

Sorry! I announced it in a filtered post which your Beloved should have been able to read, but I didn't put most of my male friends in the filter thinking that I would later use it for pregnancy TMI. Possibly I should have done a more widespread announcement now I'm out of the major miscarriage zone before randomly dropping it into a post...
So anyway, thanks for the congratulations! I am due end July/early August, and have been reading posts from parents on my f-list with increasing trepidation :o)

[thelancrewitch]

Oops! I didn't realise he hadn't been able to read the announcement.

[pyrrha17]

I wouldn't stress too much about the food thing. Obviously I mean do what you can, but don't stress! I didn't check what I was eating (just ate normal vegetarian diet) and didn't take supplements, and I had healthy babies. I bet lots of women don't pay too much attention, just try to eat generally healthily.

Your chances of getting listeria in Australia are apparently quite slim. I believe that here soft cheeses must be made with pasturised milk: so Australian-made soft cheeses are perfectly fine. Avoid the soft-serve icecream, etc as well, but I'm sure that's not too much of a hassle :)

[nessbrain]

Seconded :-) Cheeses in Australia are totally fine, the listeria risk is from non-pastuerised milks which aren't permitted to be used here. I was not happy when I found this out *after* Aidan was born!

[pezzae]

What about the mold? Or do they just say 'don't eat brie and camembert' to make sure you avoid the imported, non-pastuerised varieties?
*makes note to ask midwife at next appointment*

[pyrrha17]

Don't be surprised if she doesn't know. I tried asking a few during my various appointments and mostly the answer was "I don't know, just avoid them anyway."

[darthbessie]

Scarier still is the knowledge that most women in the world are totally unable to obtain the nutrients they need for healthy pregnancies and babies - for many, they're struggling to just get enough calories.

Have you heard of Golden Rice? I don't want to rave about it if it's common knowledge and you've heard about it like a million times, but it's one of those awesome projects to help developing countries in a real and achievable way, this time in an attempt to eliminate the preventable blindness that many children suffer due to vitamin A deficiency in areas where rice is the staple subsistence food.

[pezzae]

Golden Rice was one of the things that made me want to be a geneticist from age 12 to when I finally got to do it at uni (and found I suck at lab work). Unfortunately, I have heard it has not been very successful because people in developing countries see the EU putting bans on GMO food and think 'no thanks' so have actually turned down shipments of Golden Rice in aid. Thanks, Monsanto *sigh*

[darthbessie]

Golden Rice was one of the things that made me want to be a geneticist from age 12

THAT'S AWESOME. ^_^ Most people I talk to haven't heard of it.

The Monsanto bit is less awesome. But I still hear bits and pieces about the newer developments in Golden Rice occasionally around the department. A lot of people have never stopped thinking it's gonna be great. ^_^

[zenmetheus]

Congratulations on your pregnancy!

I just want to say good on you for being so concerned and inquisitive about your current condition. I was shocked a few years ago to find out just how little is actually known about health and nutrition of women before and during pregnancy. Shocked because the well being of our society depends on the well being of mothers and their children. So why are we so pitifully ignorant about something so important? Why has pre-natal care been taken for granted? Probably a very chauvanistic and gender-phobic explanation (my new expression on this matter is "I blame neanderthals"). Still, there's an enormous amount of research into pre-natal health happening now so I think we're on the verge of a singularity in pre-natal health.