Prego Wino Seeking Moderation
I want to start this potentially controversial post with a couple disclaimers:
- Not every post on this blog will be about pregnancy and babies...it just so happens that's what's on my mind and something I’m super passionate about.
- I AM NOT A DOCTOR, or anyone who claims to know anything for that matter, just an individual who cares to gather multiple points of view before making a decision (especially if that decision includes nixing all things delicious for 9+ months), and who wants desperately for women to live an empowered pregnancy.
America, among a ton of other things, is an amazing country full of freedoms and liberties, room for self-expression, self-advocacy, and the advocacy of others. We have access to some of the most extraordinary scientific and medical minds and advancements in the world. We are also a country living in an age of WebMD, where a pimple can turn into the measles, and a migraine headache is just as likely to be a brain tumor. We live in an age of the Internet and information, of hand sanitizer, and of fear; but we also live in an age of empowerment and questioning; an age graced with primo boxed wine and triple double mochachinos with whip. We need to find a balance - or at least I needed to find a balance, especially while I was growing humans in my body.
There is a lot of unknown in pregnancy and birth, but they shouldn't be the fearful experiences like we’ve been raised to believe (cue any Hollywood depiction of birth). We have gotten to the point that, by-in-large, social influences flood us with second guessing and prep us with back-to-back judgments about every step we take as mothers: labor through a natural birth, get an epidural, or C-section, or VBAC; give birth at home, in clinic, or hospital, or lodge; choose cloth diaper or disposable diaper; don’t gain too much weight, but don’t exercise too much, either; don’t forget, watch what you put into your body: no caffeine, no sushi, no deli meats, no tuna, no alcohol, no runny yolks, or sprouts, oh and don’t forget to eat all your spinach (confession: the sight of spinach made me gag through both pregnancies. It was rough.) Now, obviously while in the business of growing a human we need take extra precautions to take care of our bodies and the baby inside of it, but I also want to advocate for taking care of the mind and spirit that is part of that body. Yes, pregnancy and labor can be less than comfortable, but women have been doing this for umteen millions of years, we were made to do this, we are unbelievably capable forces of God-given power and strength, and I have to believe to some extent that we have at least a bit of intuition.
Yes, you need to watch your weight, and boost the proteins and greens to keep both you and the baby healthy, that doesn't mean you can't eat the occasional apple fritter (Full transparency? I ate at least 4.5 apple fritters/week during my second pregnancy… sometimes I shared them with my toddler, but not always). Yes, you have to slow down your exercise at some point, but your body will tell you how fast you can go as long as you pay attention. Yes, home birth and midwifery are real things used and practiced by normal and highly medically capable individuals, and yes they’re safe. Food and beverage choices is another place needing moderation without exclusion. This list isn’t exhaustive. There are so many freaking options, and so many RIGHT WAYS of doing things, it can be overwhelming. Let’s choose battles. (This is coming from a woman who was in tears over trying to choose the right butt wipes.)
We need SO much more positivity, understanding, moderation, and acceptance around pregnancy and birth! So much less judgment and opinionated commentary. Let’s replace fear and dread, with knowledge and hope. For me, a glimmer of hope came with a TON of research about some of my favorite treats. And so my rant continues:
below is my own opinionated commentary about wine & delicious treats…because I can criticize opinionated criticisms, while still maintaining a bit of objective opinion, right?
I love wine. I love my wine alone, with friends, with food, and definitely with cheese. Chardonnay with bleu (a no no); Pino Gris with salmon sushi (another no no); and I love Merlot with chocolate and medium rare steaks (no no). So here's how I survived... everything in moderation. It is possible. I am absolutely capable of going 9 months without these delicious treats in my life for the health and safety of my baby and myself, but there are so many studies looking into, and questioning, the validity of exclusion after the first trimester (don’t mess with the first trimester) that I had to take a look at what the world wide web had to offer and gauge which “truths” I needed to apply to my life.
Turns out, a couple glasses of red wine in a week can actually be good for you and the baby. Women in other countries (like Germany, France, Italy) aren't encouraged to abstain from alcohol, but limit their consumption to one glass a day (not every day). I'd also like to point out that French, Italian, and German babies come out as perfectly fine and incredibly capable and lovely human beings, despite having a healthy relationship with vino (healthy being the key word. I am in no way advocating for the consumption of alcohol during pregnancy, especially over consumption. I’m just making a point for moderation here).
Also turns out, the whole "no sushi" thing is not necessarily because of the rawness of the food, but because of the possible exposure to toxic metals like mercury. "Old" fish are particularly prone to mercury absorption and are the real no-nos here. An old fish, like tuna, reaches maturity between 7-9 years and large tuna can grow up to 50 years old! Young fish, like salmon, have a life cycle that is typically only 1-4 years, which doesn't give them much time to be exposed to the same levels of toxins. Further, if you have a favorite sushi or burger joint and haven't gotten ill, you're probably safe as far as the raw factor goes. Just take a break from the yellow tail and tuna steaks for a while because mercury sucks.
The above is same for deli meats. I craved turkey sandwiches when pregnant: turkey, tomato, iceberg lettuce, and mayo. One every once in a while from a quality deli is okay. The deli meat thing (like the raw meat thing) is due to the chance of contracting listeria, which is a very scary disease, but is also very uncommon (CDC: 1600 people, out of the 321.5 million people in the USA, get it a year...that's .0005%). So if you're like me and nothing else will satisfy, find a good deli and savor a sammy. Shoot for a fresh sandwich over the pre-made/wrapped ones you can snag from the grocery story counter because you never know how long those have been sitting out.
The cheese thing...now, as a lactard, the soft cheese thing is pretty easy for me to "obey," but know the facts. The fear surrounding soft cheeses is due to listeria again. We've covered the numbers, but know too that cheeses in the USA are heavily pasteurized, which kills all the bugs. So just look for the pasteurized seal and you're likely okay. FDA says so (if you need a federal stamp). Also, remember that all soft cheeses are okay if they are cooked because cooking kills listeria.
On to caffeine. Turns out a cup or two of coffee (the real kind, you know, with caffeine) is perfectly fine for baby. Just don't down the entire pot. "They" say not to drink too much caffeine during pregnancy, but there haven't been any studies (that I could find) to document the lasting effects of caffeine on the baby. But knowing that caffeine is a drug that actually does crazy things to your brain, its another one to take in moderation. // On a side note, I have had HORRIBLE sciatica second time around, and after innumerable chiropractor visits, pregnancy massages, icing down, and heating up, cutting caffeine from my diet was the only thing to relieve my pain because caffeine causes an inflammatory reaction in your body. That’s something to think about.
All of this said, it doesn't hurt to cut these things from your life for a little while, and for some, it would definitely be a good decision; but let it be YOUR decision. Be smart and responsible about what you put and don't put in your body, and why. Letting fear [rather than understanding] run your life, at any stage is miserable, and especially when you're growing another life inside of you and you have so little control over the way you feel. Like I said, know the facts, figures, and full scope of information before taking a piece of advice at face value. Pregnancy is not a partisan issue. There is not one right way to do it.
It's not always possible, but try to know where your food comes from. Try to eat organic, or be aware of the dirty dozen. Try to go on a walk every day. Try to get in all the leafy greens and proteins and water you can. Try to be good to your body, mind, and soul. If there's a period of time that you just can't muster it. Don't beat yourself up. It's all in moderation. Pregnancy is hard, but if you are taking care of you, you are taking care of baby, too - even if that means having a glass of wine at the end of the day. There are too many things to fear in this world, lets try to stop instilling that in our society, and instead replace it with hope and understanding.