Soft cheese ok for new mom to eat?

[beckms]

One of my good friends had her first baby last night (I am SO excited!). I want to bring her something when I go to visit tomorrow...she really missed being able to eat soft cheeses while she was pregnant, but I'm not sure if she's still not going to be able to eat them while she's nursing.

Anyone know if nursing moms definitely can't eat soft/raw cheese?

thanks!:cool:

[avariell]

when i saw soft, i thought "as long as it is pasturized" - then i saw the "raw" part which i assume means it might not be pasturized? i don't know if that is okay or not.
not much help am i! :)

[mst]

That's a hard call. Some moms eat it, some do not. I think you should ask your friend what she chooses to do. She might choose not to eat it, but feel obligated because you brought it.

Personally, I started very strict, and as DD got older, I ate more of the "questionable" foods.

[zwieback]

Soft cheeses are okay as long as they are pasteurized and/or made from pasteurized milk. I'm pregnant right now and have eaten plenty of soft cheese - I just make sure it states it's pasteurized first. Not so sure about the raw cheese.

But, I agree with mst. Some moms may choose not to eat the cheese regardless of it being pasteurized.

[donnamp14]

WOW! I had my kids years ago, so I had never heard of this restriction. I did find this article, for anyone who may be interested. Good information here, cheese as well as other foods that ought to be avoided. (gotta love the 'net!)

http://babyfit.sparkpeople.com/articles.asp?id=208

-Donna

[honeygirl1971]

As far as I know, now that you are talking about breastfeeding and not pregnancy, she can eat it. I do. From what I've read, listeria is not likely to be passed through breastmilk, so even if she was unlucky enough to get contaminated cheese (and there are only about 100 cases a year in the US), she most likely wouldn't pass it on to her baby. I was very careful about what I ate while pregnant, but now that I'm (just) breastfeeding, the only things I avoid are liquor, peanuts, and medications.

This is some info I found on the internet (here: http://www.babycentre.co.uk/baby/breastfeeding/eatanddrinkexpert/) that echoes what I've heard:

Should I avoid any foods or drink when I'm breastfeeding?




Heather Welford answers:
Most breastfeeding mothers can eat and drink what they like. In a few cases, some babies seem to react with symptoms such as colic, fussiness, or excessive crying to foods in the mother's diet. The only food that has really been researched in this way is milk and dairy produce. In some studies, some babies with colic seemed to improve when their mothers omitted milk and dairy from their diets. There have been a few documented cases of caffeine causing problems, too.

If your baby seems to react, then try several days without the food you suspect, and then try it again. Note any changes.

You don't need to avoid the foods you avoided in pregnancy, such as soft cheeses and pates, because of the risk of listeriosis. Although listeria has been found in breastmilk it would be extremely unusual for the bug to be transferred from mother to baby in this way. It is thought that suspected cases of listeria infection via breastfeeding have actually been acquired by the baby during pregnancy or during delivery from bacteria within the ****** (CFSPH 2005). Newborns infected in this way can develop the disease a few days or a few weeks after birth.

If there's a peanut allergy in your family, then some experts feel it's a good idea to avoid eating peanuts when you are breastfeeding, (as well as during pregnancy), so as to avoid sensitising your baby.

There's no evidence that moderate social drinking causes any harm to your baby, by the way, but if you feel you definitely don't want any alcohol in your breastmilk, then either don't drink, or wait for a couple of hours before feeding. Once the alcohol is out of your bloodstream, it's out of your milk.



Reviewed by Sally Inch, infant feeding specialist, March 2006

References

CFSPH (Centre for Food Security and Public Health). 2005. Listeriosis factsheet [Accessed February 2006]