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The minute I found out I was pregnant, I started craving all the wrong stuff and I am not talking about junk food. I want sparkling wine and sushi. To make matters worse, I just as a entered my second trimester, my family went to a great all-inclusive resort with all you can eat sushi bar. You can call a dream come true, I call it torture! That is why I am going back to the source and asking Jan Rydfors MD, Co-Founder of EmbraceHer, creators of the app, Pregnancy Companion: The Obstetrician’s Mobile Guide to Pregnancythese difficult (at least for me) questions.
My first trimester I couldn’t even stand the smell of coffee, but now I want my cup of coffee back. Is it safe?
Limited intake of caffeine appears to be safe, and medical studies do show that up to 200 mg per day is most likely fine. Higher amounts might increase the risk of having a miscarriage or inducing early labor, so I suggest you stay below the 200-mg/day limit. For popular drinks, an 8 oz. cup of coffee has about 100 mg of caffeine, an Espresso has 65 mg and a diet coke has about 45 mg. For you tea drinkers, a cup of regular tea has about 50 mg. Finally, for the Starbucks junkies out there, a Starbucks tall (12 oz.) Cappuccino and Latte each have 75 mg.
I love sushi and it has been a torture for me to stay away from this fishy deliciousness. Why is sushi not safe to eat during pregnancy?
Sushi is very popular today and my patients tell me that it tastes even better when one is pregnant! I always get inquiries about this. In the US, women are told to not eat sushi when pregnant, but this absolute “no-no” regarding sushi is probably not completely correct. Japanese women certainly don’t seem to restrict it during their pregnancies. There are some justifiable concerns about the high mercury in some of the fish used such as tuna, mackerel, swordfish and blue marlin. You might be surprised about tuna being included in this list, but this is due to the preference for using very large tuna when making sushi. Generally the larger the fish, the more mercury it contains. Eel, shrimp, crab, fish, eggs and scallops have usually acceptable mercury levels. The concerns for bacteria and parasites in sushi are also not correct. Most fish used for sushi in the US, per FDA guidelines, have been flash frozen when caught. This kills the bacteria and parasites present in them.
So, do have your sushi, but stay away from the high mercury containing fish. Only eat fresh sushi from a reputable restaurant and source, as you do not want to ingest any Listeria bacteria, which can infect your baby.
Let’s take alcohol: please tell me I can have a glass of wine once in a while?
This is a tough one. In France and southern Europe, pregnant women will often have a little wine with dinner. Fetal alcohol syndrome is however real and the guidelines by the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) state unequivocally that there is no safe amount of alcohol to drink. Many of my OB colleagues are a little more lenient. They tell their patients that after the first trimester, an occasional half of a glass of wine with dinner probably poses very little risk to your baby but do not drink multiple glasses per day, no matter what stage of gestation.
Dr. Jan Rydfors is a Silicon Valley-based board certified Obstetrician and Gynecologist (OB/GYN) specializing in fertility and high risk pregnancy. He is the Co-Founder and Chief Medical Advisor of EmbraceHer, creators of the popular Pregnancy Companion app.
Expecting mom? New mom? Know one?
Check out tips, tricks, and other great articles on Advice for a New Mom page
There are so many things that are not safe during pregnancy it’s scary but there are some misconceptions as well – this is a good post to clarify a few things.
ah, I don’t think I could stay away from sushi! LOL, the wine, I’d probably be more stringent.
Interesting, I never knew the finer information about these restrictions in pregnancy. It’s especially interesting that pregnant women still enjoy wine at dinner in France!
I stayed away from all of this when I was pregnant. Don’t like any of the 3.
I just figure for 9 months…why not do the very best for your little babe that you can. If caffeine, sushi and wine are it…you can do it!!
Good advice for all women of child bearing age. I think like Shelley wrote if you are going to have a baby 9 months of sacrifice is not too much for its better health
Great advice of all expectant mothers. I did stay away from caffeine, sushi, but I did have a few sips of wine from time to time. Good luck through the rest of your pregnancy.
I agree with Shelley, it’s not worth it to me to risk my baby’s health no matter how much I might want it. Of course, both of my pregnancies were high-risk and I was quite careful about everything!
So many myths and so many things to wonder about if they are true or not. Thank you for clearing many of these up and the explanations as to why! We are told that we can’t have this and can’t have that while we are pregnant but rarely are we told why.
Good to know about the Sushi. I love it so much and thought I had to avoid it the last pregnancy. It was so hard!
Sushi was one thing my wife missed also. But when you’re talking about your baby, no safety precaution is too much!
I was so sick with my pregnancies so I lived on chicken noodle soup, but my friend had to give up so many things she loved. It was tough. but worth it.
Those are some interesting questions. As with the wine question, there are so many cases where answers just don’t seem to be straightforward and there are so many different opinions!
I always erred on the side of caution, probably going a little overboard in some areas. I think everyone finds their comfort zone (especially after a few pregnancies).