Sushi and pregnancy

[Anonymous]

OK - I have heard conflicting reports on this but have not asked my Dr for my current pregnancy.

My boss wants to get togehter for lunch later this week and has proposed a great sushi restaurant. I have not told my boss I am pregnant yet - and this is a place we have gone together in the past.

Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

You should still be able to find things you can eat that aren't raw and aren't high in mercury -- enari, california rolls, eel rools -- I wouldn't hesitate.

[Anonymous]

I eat sushi all the time, I just stay away from the raw fish - shrimp tempura rolls, and california rolls (no fish roe) are my favorites, and I'll eat smoked salmon and cream cheese rolls too, although that might be more controversial.

[Anonymous]

Lots of people are squeemish about eating raw fish. You can claim to be one of these people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lots of people are squeemish about eating raw fish. You can claim to be one of these people.

She said they've gone there together in the past!

[Anonymous]

FWIW OP, my OB told me that I could continue eating all the sushi I wanted (raw fish included) but to be mindful of the fish with high mercury levels (tuna, etc.). I have a few pregnant co-workers as well and we all routinely eat sushi.

There is nothing wrong with sushi. The risk is the same with any food - food poisoning. I just got food poisoning from a butter sauce and COOKED fish at a nice restaurant and while it sucked, it didn't hurt the baby.

Go to reputable places, but don't worry unnecessarily about sushi. Sushi in the US is flash frozen to kill bacteria, so the risk really is just with food preparation (and this can be said about all food).

[Anonymous]

OP, same thing happened to me before I told my boss I was pregnant. I usually ate sushi at least once a week and continued throughout my pregnancy. After all, Japanese women don't stop! Get something cooked or lower in mercury levels like the PP suggested. Have fun! Get a spicy salmon roll for me

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FWIW OP, my OB told me that I could continue eating all the sushi I wanted (raw fish included) but to be mindful of the fish with high mercury levels (tuna, etc.). I have a few pregnant co-workers as well and we all routinely eat sushi.

There is nothing wrong with sushi. The risk is the same with any food - food poisoning. I just got food poisoning from a butter sauce and COOKED fish at a nice restaurant and while it sucked, it didn't hurt the baby.

Go to reputable places, but don't worry unnecessarily about sushi. Sushi in the US is flash frozen to kill bacteria, so the risk really is just with food preparation (and this can be said about all food).

Agreed with all this. I also like to be mindful of places that serve a lot of sushi, so you know it hasn't been sitting for any length of time. First time I was pregnant, I didn't touch the stuff. Second time around, I ate some sushi - didn't go crazy, but I had some - raw milk cheeses, a sip of beer here or there. Everybody's happy and healthy.

[Anonymous]

Exact same thing happened to me last week. My boss knows that I'm a huge sushi fan and wanted me to introduce her to raw fish rolls. We went to a high-end place, ordered about half raw, half cooked, and I loved every bite! Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I eat sushi all the time, I just stay away from the raw fish - shrimp tempura rolls, and california rolls (no fish roe) are my favorites, and I'll eat smoked salmon and cream cheese rolls too, although that might be more controversial.

Assuming fish roe is in the same boat as caviar, it's actually fine during pregnancy as long as it's pastuerized (and the fish roe would be). Smoked and pickled fishes, however, are not supposed to be eaten during pregnancy since the are also technically raw. Although I didn't know this until a few months into my pregnancy and I had already had my share of smoked salmon and herring. Ooops--everything turned out fine though.

[Anonymous]

You can get listeria through cross contamination, so I'm not really sure that cooked sushi would be safer than raw sushi (unless the sushi restaurant prepares them separately and cleans all tools/changes gloves between raw and cooked sushi). That said, I occassionally eat raw sushi while pregnant -- I figure that you can get listeria from anything (including veggies), but at least sushi was designed to be eaten raw.

[Anonymous]

I did some research on food poisoning associated with sushi during pregnancy. Apparently, the last outbreak was at some Sushi place in the midwest (Kansas, maybe?) - and the culprit was the imitation crab from the California roll. The restaurant can't always control the quality of the processed ingredients it uses, but chefs are trained to identify parasites and whatnot in the raw ingredients. Also, most (if not all) fish for sushi is flash frozen - which kills at least some of the parasites. I wouldn't eat sushi that had been under a heat lamp or anything, but I have no qualms about eating sushi from a reputable place. Happy eating!