Lunch meat while pregnant?

I have been craving sandwiches from Schlotzsky's, but read that pregnant women shouldn't eat lunch meat...any truth to that?

 

I ate lunch meat with my 1st pregnancy and have been with this as well...sometimes Jimmy John's was the only thing that would make me feel better.

 

Yes there is truth to that. I avoided hot dogs & lunch meat. I believe if you cook it, get it above a certain temperature that is fine, but I believe the risk is that it isn't cooked well enough. Some people eat it just fine.. don't get a bad one. I didn't want to take the chance!

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absolutely no truth. i am in the hospital right now and they feel me salads with that budding lunch meat, plus sandwiches and subs from cousins. also deli sliced ham with my eggs. . . so i highly doubt there is any truth to it. feel free to eat all the lunch meat u want.

 

From what I have been told, that is true about not eating lunch meat... if it is cold. But my understanding is that it is safe to eat ham, turkey, etc. as long as the meat is steaming hot.

 

Yep, I think it's due to listeria. You can heat it up though and should be fine (in the microwave). I just avoided it while I was pregnant, I didn't want to take any chances.

 

I asked my Dr about that when I was pregnant and she told me as long as I was not eating a TON of it that it was fine. She said that it was fine in moderation. I guess it depends on what you feel comfortable with.

 

My dr told me just to put it in the microwave for 5-8 seconds before eating lunchmeat so I'm sure you'll be ok if you go to schlotskys

 

The big problem is the DELI lunch meats, the ones at the actual deli counter at a grocery store (or meats left out at places like subway). Because they are not kept at a constant cold temperature there is a risk of listeria developing, and that can cause a m/c (even a late term one).

Packaged lunch meats kept in the refridgerated section at a grocery store are much safer as they go thru a preservative process to prevent the listeria. Now, all those preservatives aren't great so moderation is important!

I try hard to avoid sub sandwiches from subway but I have broken down and had one or two this pregnancy, mostly I stick with the meatball sub because it's hot. Oh I usually have them toast my sub if I can too, because that heats it up pretty good altho I've never actually checked how hot it gets, whether it's hot enough to kill the listeria or not.....

Oh this is all stuff my ob told me and I did research on when pregnant with my first child, so that was 7 yrs ago, things change so much that who knows but it's what I've followed since then!

 

When I was pregnant with the boys... I asked my ob about this. She looked at me like I had four holes in my head! She said I could definitely eat them. And I remember mentioning it to others who had kids prior.... they never heard of it! I think more of it is the bologna, salami, etc... Who knows!

Anyways-it wasn't like I was eating it everyday! Maybe once/twice a week. I ate it and I am eating it this go around too...I just think maybe in moderation is probably best. Do what you think is best!

 

I ate it cold whenever I wanted throughout all of my pregnancies.

 

Listeria is the bacteria to be concerned about with cold cuts. It is definitely a risk to eat lunch meat that has not been cooked/re-heated. Listeria can give you Listeriosis, which may cause miscarriage. It is EXTREMELY UNLIKELY, but not out of the question.

ashnlexi, I don't know why the hospital would consider serving cold cuts to someone who is pregnant - each time I have eaten at the hospital OB office or L&D they serve sandwiches marked "low bacteria" which include cooked chicken or cooked turkey breast.

That said, I have cheated a bit and gotten a smoked turkey sandwich at the deli now and then, but it is a risk!

Even pre-packaged meats are susceptible to listeria. There was an outbreak in Canada just a few months ago:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26318179/
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/08/24/liste...reak/index.html

My suggestion is if you want lunch meat, just get it heated to be on the safe side!

 

Thanks everyone...I think I am going to indulge in a Schlotzsky's sandwich for lunch, but just microwave it for about 10 seconds!!! YUMMY!!!!

 

I have never turned down a deli meat sandwich in any of my pgs. I don't limit them, I don't eat a ton of them, I just eat one whenever I feel like having one. Some docs are more concerned about it than others, just like anything else.

 

Mmmm!!! Jimmy John's!!! Schlotzky's!!! You're all making me hungry!!!

 

I think the problem with lunch meat is that they the grocers slice the meat on slicers that may not be cleaned properly by the deli workers and thus contain much more bacteria on them. I eat Jimmy Johns and Erbert and Gerberts and never had a problem with getting sick. I just don't eat them very often and I eat them right away so they don't sit out first. I also read in a book that soft serve ice cream also is bad because the machines aren't cleaned out often enough. What???? I am still eating my Dairy Queen and Culvers about once a week and loving it!......

 

according to a friend of mine in the business... prepackaged lunch meats sometimes have a bacteria in them called lysteria that can cause miscarrage... fresh deli meats that you get at the deli counter are deemed to be safe. from what i hear its rare, but there still is a chance

 

I hardly ate it at all. To be safe, it needs to be heated to the point of steaming, and it just isn't that as good like that.

Lunch meat is not one of those "moderation" things, like alcohol or caffeine (where the risk is in having too much). You can get listeria from just one slice, and although it's very, very unlikely, if you do get it, it can be fatal to the babies. That wasn't a risk I was willing to take.

However, DH and I went on vacation to Switzerland when I was pg and we stayed at a rustic hotel that had a big buffet for breakfast and lunch every day -- and it was mostly sliced meat & cheese. DH wasn't happy about it (he is a biologist and very aware of all possible risks), but I had to eat it. I figured it was a lot safer because the hotel was slicing it fresh every day.

 

I tried to avoid it with my first pregnancy. But this one, I want all kinds of meat, and that just isn't like me period. I used to be a vegan, but I kept getting sick a long time ago from not getting the right supliments I needed so I pretty much just eat chicken. I was at work the other day, called my hubby and told him I wanted a steak for dinner, his response was, ok you have to be pregnant, and ran to the store, he would never pass up steak since I never make it for him. All he gets is chicken lol.

Some people say if you nuke it in the microwave for a few seconds then the lunch meat is ok, but I have never tried it so I can only tell you what I've heard.