List of dietary taboos for pregnant women

Raw/half-cooked food that has not been heated thoroughly, any alcoholic drinks/foods, foods that are known to cause allergies in you. All the remaining "don't eats" that are so popular are almost all based on personal physique, gestation period, and even the recommendations of different medical schools. There is no standard answer.

Let’s first talk about the three categories of food that are not controversial and you really need to keep your mouth shut.

Don’t think that only sashimi is called raw. The soft-boiled eggs in Japanese restaurants, the raw marinated shrimps in late-night snack stalls, the raw egg sauce used in cold noodles, the medium-rare steaks fried until they are red with blood streaks, the tender beef that has just been blanched for 10 seconds in the hot pot, and even the unpasteurized fresh milk sold in supermarkets and homemade fermented pickles without sterilization may carry Listeria or Toxoplasma gondii. Ordinary people will only have diarrhea for two or three days after being infected. However, infection in pregnant mothers may affect the development of the fetus. This is the consensus of the global medical community, and there is nothing to argue about. Oh, yes, there is a little controversy here: can cooking wine be used for cooking? Western medicine generally believes that as long as the stewing time exceeds 15 minutes, the alcohol will basically evaporate, and normal seasoning is completely fine. However, some schools of traditional Chinese medicine believe that even trace residues may be irritating to the fetus. If the elders in the family are particularly concerned, it is enough to use ginger or lemon to remove the fishy smell. There is no need to get into trouble over this trivial matter.

Needless to say, as for alcohol, whether it is liquor, beer, "alcohol-free fruit wine" or "low-alcohol liqueur" promoted by merchants, or even the "anti-fetal wine" used by the older generation, as long as it contains alcohol, do not touch it. Even one sip may be passed to the fetus through the placenta, affecting neurological development. I once had a distant relative who couldn't stand it during the Chinese New Year and was persuaded to drink half a glass of red wine during the pregnancy. She was worried throughout the pregnancy. She didn't feel relieved until the baby was born and all indicators were normal. There was really no need to take this risk.

As for the "can't eat crabs, hawthorns, rabbits, and muttons" that are widely circulated on the Internet, it's really not that absolute. Two months ago, I accompanied my best friend, who was 16 weeks pregnant, to a prenatal check-up. The day before, she was greedy and ate a hairy crab weighing half a kilogram. Her mother scolded her all the way. After the doctor asked her whether she was allergic to eating crabs before, and she did not suffer from abdominal pain, bleeding, or uterine cold, she smiled and said, "What's wrong with eating one? As long as you don't have indigestion from eating three or four at a time." Of course, if you have symptoms of threatened miscarriage or have had a history of miscarriage before, Chinese medicine generally recommends avoiding foods that are cold or have blood-activating effects such as crabs and hawthorns in early pregnancy. It is not wrong. Just choose according to your own physical condition.

Oh, yes, there are also sayings that "eating rabbit meat will cause harelips, and eating mutton will cause epilepsy." This is purely an old legend. My cousin settled in Sichuan during her pregnancy. She ate cold rabbit and mutton in a copper pot every now and then. The baby was born with round lips and was able to run and jump when he was just over a year old. There was nothing wrong with him. Don’t take these rumors that have no scientific basis to heart.

There are also many pregnant mothers who are concerned about whether they can drink coffee and milk tea? The difference between these different statements is really huge. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has clearly stated a standard: daily caffeine intake should not exceed 200mg, which is about the amount of one medium cup of Americano or two small cups of latte. It is completely safe and will not affect fetal development. But if you feel flustered and insomnia after drinking coffee, or the elders in your family disagree, then it’s okay not to drink. In fact, if you drink half a cup to satisfy your craving, no one will say anything about you. As for milk tea, the main problem is too much added sugar. If you don’t have gestational diabetes, it’s okay to drink full-sugar tea once or twice a week. If your blood sugar is high, just choose three-sugar or sugar-free tea. You don’t have to give up completely and wrong yourself.

Among the pregnant mothers I have met, some did not eat anything during the entire pregnancy. They took turns eating hot pot, barbecue and ice cream. The baby was born white and fat.； There are also people who strictly followed the old rules and stayed away from it for ten months, but it was because of their own physical problems. In fact, there is really no need to practice asceticism in eating during pregnancy. The core is to eat cleanly, eat comfortably, and not eat too much. For example, if you have a good stomach and intestines, what would happen if you eat a small cone on a 38-degree day in the summer? Ice will only cool your stomach, but it won't directly go into the uterus and cool the baby. As long as you don't have diarrhea after eating it. But if you have a weak stomach and get gassy when you eat something cold, then you must keep your mouth shut.

Oh yes, here’s a little reminder. If you have gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, or other underlying diseases, you should follow your doctor’s advice to control your diet. For example, you should eat less foods high in sugar and salt. Don’t be like others and eat whatever they want. To put it bluntly, there is no "list" that is universally applicable. Everyone's physique is different. As long as you remember the three core categories and don't touch them, you can make the rest happy. The most important thing is that the pregnant mother is in a good mood, right?