With all the guidelines -- do's and don't or what to eat or avoid -- being pregnant seems to be trickier and more complicated than a woman can ever imagine. Huffington Post, with the help of experts, takes a closer look and in-depth discussion about these guidelines. Are they really valid or just a bunch of myths? Can we do better with them or not?
Recently, a study just counselled mothers to never drink any amount of alcohol during while pregnant. This discovery has indeed caused a few questions (and a few more eyebrows) raised because no one knew about this before and there were no significant links between pregnancy and strictly-no-alcohol-policy... until now. Aside from this, other guidelines include: not eating soft cheeses, uncooked (rare) meat and sushi, and not drinking of fresh juice.
Josh Zepps of Huffington Post seeks help from OB - gynaecologist, nurse practitioner Marcelle Pick of Yarmouth, ME to understand the truth behind these rules.
Pick confirms the truth of getting listeria, a type of bacteria infecting humans, from soft cheeses made of unpasteurized milk. According to her, it happens to one in sixteen hundred women. Though this number is pretty low, she reiterates that cases like that really happen.
However, despite these truths, Pick clarifies that she does not want to exaggerate and scare pregnant mothers out there. She simply suggests to "do things in balance". Mothers are to eat properly while still "living their lives". "It is all about being mindful where you are getting the products", Pick explains that pregnant mothers have to be extra careful about buying produce.
It is true that pregnant mothers nowadays face more (and stricter) rulings compared to women before further studies were conducted. Moreover, Dr. Shoshana Bennett, clinical psychologist, explains that pregnant women nowadays have to follow different guidelines than before simply because of the changes of times. "Even if you eat organic, it is not how it used to be...nutritionally, we are starving," Bennett further describes the situation.
