There is a lot of contention that goes into a slice of deli meat in sandwich when you have a growing bump. As a rule, pregnant women are always advised to steer clear from anything uncooked, cured or smoke and deli meats hold no exception. From ham to turkey, chicken breast to salami, bologna, pastrami and all sorts of mind-boggling Italian-sounding cold cuts are often ticked off an expectant’s mother’s list. But why is it so?
So it seems that eating deli meats increase one’s chances of catching up on deadly bacteria like Listeria Mocytogenes. This type of bacteria thrives on the salty and the wet. A form of food poisoning comes from the bacteria is called Listeriosis—and this could pose a huge threat to you and the baby. Its symptoms usually manifest like flu.
A pregnant woman can experience the same body malaise, nausea, fever, and vomiting. Most people do not get easily affected by listeria but pregnant women as well as the baby can be severely affected when the illness gone out of hand. This is because the infection can be passed to baby. Severe consequences like meningitis, bacteremia, still birth, premature birth, low birth weight, and so on can happen.
What to Do?
The problem with being pregnant is that one can easily lose control when craving sits in. According to experts, a good way to satisfy one’s hunger for deli meats is to make sure this type of food is cooked or steamed. Listeria dies down under high temperature.
Another option is to buy it fresh from gourmet shops which make sure that deli meats are fresh and handled safely. Some deli shop like Walmart Deli has an entire section for gourmet deli meats to satisfy your heart’s content. Just make sure to heat what you bought being slapping it into a sandwich to keep listeria away.
