How Do you All Feel About "Studies Show"

I am not even pregnant yet but TTC and wanted to ask you ladies how you felt about "studies show". What i mean by this is I am only TTC and people are telling me things i should not eat, things i should, how to have sex, what to stop doing.

I have many friends who are/have been pregnant and one will eat feta cheese, another won't. One drinks diet soda or coffee, others say that harms the baby.

I just feel like they are making me crazy now and i am not even pregnant. My goal when i do get pregnant is to stop drinking wine (maybe have a glass or so later in my pregnancy) and cut back on my diet soda intake.

I also plan on continuing to run my 9 miles a week up until i start getting a belly (if i can of course).

I feel like while i think studies are important there are so many conflicting ones out there (plus conflicting doctors opinions). Was just wondering how you all felt about them and what you can and cannot do/have/etc.

Re: How Do you All Feel About "Studies Show"

Honestly.. There are some things that are just not "healthy" to do when pregnant.
SOme are typical.. stop smoking, drinking, take your vitamins.. etc...
But there are alot of things where I feel everyone really just needs to do what THEY feel is ok or not ok to do.
I personally trust my doctor. If you put trust and faith into an OBGYN and they tell you.. dont eat a certain type of cheese cause it can cause harm to the fetus then I personally would listen to them.
All woman have millions of different opinions.. Find a doctor you trust and listen to him.
Dont drive yourself crazy over anything.. when your pregnant you'll figure everything out.. your maternal instincts will kick in..

Re: How Do you All Feel About "Studies Show"

The problem that you describe is that the majority of studies simply reveal a risk, not clear harm. Whereas alcohol is known to cause harm at a clear level, feta cheese has a small chance of carrying harmful bacteria. So, 99 out of 100 (made up percentage) would be fine eating it and will say "Well I ate it and my baby is ok, so it must be safe!" While you don't meet that 1 in 100 who ended up in the hospital that truly regrets her choice.

You have confirm that studies are credible and then determine what level of risk you are willing to take.

Re: How Do you All Feel About "Studies Show"

I am 8 months pregnant now and I have taken the attitude of "Can I live without it?" I stopped eating soft cheeses like feta, gorgonzola etc becasue lets be honest..it isn't going to kill me not to have them and I lost my love of salads anyways....

I stopped diet soda and all nutrasweet becasue again, not something that I couldn't live without! but some people said no chocolate blah blah blah and that was not happening. chocoalte makes me happy, so I still eat it, but I substituted it for my "caffeine" for the day and stopped coffee. Some people can't live without coffee, so they can have a cup a day.

In the end, you have to realize that a life is depending on you to provide the best nutrition you can and take the least amount of risks, so although the risk of listeria may be rare, you probably don't NEED a deli sandwich everyday, but if that is what will get you through the day, get it from somewhere you can trust.

I agree it gets overwhelming, but in the end it is your decisions you have to live with and not what anyone else tells you is good or bad.

I am sure you will make smart choices!

Good Luck!

Re: How Do you All Feel About "Studies Show"

Unfortunately for all of us, this is the beginning of second guessing most of the decisions you make for your child. It starts with preconception and doesn't end. You will be second guessing yourself on immunizations, schools and balancing your lifestyle with what's best for your child.

I agree 100% with Calla in terms of deciding what risk you're willing to take -whether it's one glass of wine or having an amnio. Unfortunately, you have to decide if you are willing to chance the odds and live with those decisions. After that you can only hope and pray it was the right one.

Re: How Do you All Feel About "Studies Show"

My approach was be smart about the obvious bad things and then everything else in moderation....I mean who eats cups and cups of feta cheese in one sitting anyway?

Re: How Do you All Feel About "Studies Show"

Message edited 1/10/2006 1:46:39 PM.

Re: How Do you All Feel About "Studies Show"

I am staying away from anything diet, I don't particarlly care for the taste and if I am goingto have my calories I might aswell have it taste like the real thing. So anything with Nutri Sweet and Splenda I dont have. I still do drink a small cup of coffee a day sometimes two, except I never finish my cup so in total might actually drink one full cup. At work I try to drink either water, juice or the decaf snapple ice tea. At home I drink etiher ice tea or water. Once an while when I am at work I might want some soda and I get it. I do stay away from the high mecury fish like tuna and the deli meats and not pasturized cheeses. Like someone else posted if I can live without then I wont eat it. I try to have to 2-3 servings of fruits or veggies a day and started to cut back a little on my starchs since diabetas (spelling) does run in my family. Other wise I try not to deprive myself of something I want.

Re: How Do you All Feel About "Studies Show"

My thinking was listen to your doctor, listen to your body, and everything in moderation.

The big stuff is obvious - drinking, smoking, drugs - off limits.

There were many times when my body disagreed with the doctor. For instance, my Dr said "no bottom feeding fish" which includes shrimp. Wouldn't it just figure that during my pregnancy I developed a love affair with shrimp cocktail - a dish I used to despise. Well, guess who won that battle? The baby of course. Baby wants shrimp, baby gets shrimp! Plus, Dr rules vary so widely. My cousin, who had just had a perfectly healthy baby, told her that shrimp was fine and she ate it like the ocean was running out of them.

I stayed away from artificial sweeteners because I developed an aversion to the taste, not for any other reason. I drastically cut down my sushi intake, again, not because it was a no-no, but because sadly, I lost my taste for it. I think I had cooked sushi maybe 3 times while PG and a bite or two of the raw stuff. I couldn't believe I didn't crave sushi anymore because I had no plans of not eating it. But, I listened to my body.

For me personally, it makes no sense to go totally paranoid over the tiniest tiniest little risk that may be present in a food. Even worse, IMO, is to not eat something that your pregnant body is craving without even knowing WHY you supposedly shouldn't eat it and having the intelligence to weigh out the risks vs the benefit (if any). I think it fosters a neurotic attitude that is not good for the pregnancy. I took my pregnancy in stride and enjoyed it and gave birth to healthy baby.

And according to my DH, I "carried that baby like a champ"...which in his words means I wasn't whiny or neurotic.