food questions - ok or not?

[matemate]

is the following good or not good during pregnancy? getting conflicting messages of locals vs expat books
- ginger?
- abalone?
- fish?
- shrimps/crab -> skin?

thanks for sheding some light on this

 

[Frenchy]

I'm a Westerner... and I had no problem with eating these products during my first pregnancy, and still going on with my second one, though I'm not a big fan of abalones
Ginger is great against nauseas and to prevent colds, unless you have acidity, there is nothing wrong there. Fish and any sea food should be well cooked.
Enjoy !

 

[reei]

avoid seafood like swordfish.. , lobster, crab..

 

[Nenea]

My doctor in HK told me to avoid ginger, unripe papaya and bananas, as the chinese believe they cause uterine contractions.

 

[NDDomer]

u should avoid fish that has high mercury content, such as : king mackerel, swordfish,tilefish,shark,etc . And there's also recommendation from FDA on how much tuna one should consume.. see this link: Is it safe to eat fish and other seafood when I'm pregnant? | BabyCenter

 

[carang]

as far as i was concerned, every culture has their own "do's & don'ts" for pregnant women.

western: NO sushi
Japanes: huh? what do you mean, no sushi?

etc.

so, for my own sanity (my mil is chinese), i ate what i want, when i wanted it within reason.

i did not stop eating seafood. i just ate it in moderation.

ps. i have also heard that ginger is GREAT to help with nausea. didn't work for me, though.

 

[Gataloca]

Ginger is good for nausea. But of course, with moderation. Too much can cause uterine contraction, same as unripe papaya, and pineapple.

Fish.. the issue is with the mercury level, so as NDDomer mentioned, king mackerel, swordfish, tilefish, shark, etc should be avoided... And the issue about sushi is that it may not have been handle correctly, and may have parasites or viruses.

Don't know about abalone, shrimp or crab...

 

[carang]

yes, i understand what the issues are, but as i said everything in moderation....
(ps. would never consider eating mackerel, swordfish, shark when i'm not pregnant, so never a consideration when i was~ did eat prawns, crab, lobster etc... two beautiful, healthy kids later....)

 

[starbucks2]

I understand that prawns/shrimp etc are usually advised against as they can cause listeria. Agree re unripe papaya can cause contractions early.

It is all a risk assessment for each individual. One person can eat all the foods in the world and have no problems in pregnancy and another can catch listeria and lose the baby. All about risk assessment and what you are comfortable with. When I was pregnant there was a terrible story about a woman who lost her baby at 8 months due to eating sushi (which is advised against in my home country - not just for the raw fish but also for the rice which has been sitting around warm/cold in the open). I never ate store bought sushi as a result.

There is a good article on seafood on the Baby Center website (and this website is also great to answer these kinds of questions) see below but agree that "the foods to avoid in pregnancy" change a lot depending on the country you are in and the culture associated with that country:

Is it safe to eat seafood during pregnancy?

 

[matemate]

thanks starbucks. previously i heard 'stories' that shrimp/prawns should be avoided because it can cause the baby to have less good skin. i thought that's a bit rubbish and the listeria concern sounds much more reasonable to me