My dr says farm fresh eggs off limits during pregnancy??!

[Cartie422]

So my dr recently told me that farm fresh eggs were on the list of things pregnant women shouldn't eat. I tried to explain to him that I've raised chickens for years and eaten their eggs during that time. I know what they eat, how they're cared for and that they don't receive antibiotics or steroids but he still said no because they aren't pasturized. With the avian flu and other concerns I'm even more leery about buying store bought eggs. If cleaned and cooked properly is there really that much risk over the grocery store alternative? Has anyone else heard or run into this before?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Wow, this is likely to invite controversy. You are asking for opinions on this topic on this forum! I think you know what most of the answers will be.

It depends on the laws of your individual state if you are in the US, but most of the store bought eggs have been cleaned, sterilized, and refrigerated soon after being laid under fairly strict conditions. The hens are checked for diseases. It’s highly unlikely you will have any problems from them, although there have been salmonella outbreaks because of some eggs. You are always at a risk no matter what you do but store eggs are generally exceptionally safe as long as we handle and cook them properly. A lot of people ate eggs from those salmonella outbreaks without getting sick. They handled and cooked them properly.

Our eggs are generally not cleaned, sterilized, and refrigerated soon after laying like the big commercial operations do. Our chickens live in a natural environment and there are pathogens in the natural environment. Some of us are more diligent than others in taking care of the eggs. We are not controlled. There is a lot more uncertainly with our eggs.

We now live in a society where there is zero tolerance in many things, the goal is zero risk. If there is even a remote chance in something bad happening we must avoid it at all costs. There are a lot of things that a pregnant woman is advised not to eat or do because there is a remote risk that something might go wrong. Some of those things amaze me. But if your doctor does not advise you against it and something happens, you can sue him/her and quite possibly win. The doctor has to make those recommendations to stay in business.

It’s a personal choice what you do. I have a pretty good idea what your decision already is. Just wash your hands a lot and cook them well.

 

[Blooie]

Boy, Ridgerunner is right! This one will invite some controversy, but in a healthy forum community that's good, right? There is no wrong answer here - there are only two right answers.

Pregnant women have eaten farm fresh eggs for centuries with no ill effects, especially if those eggs have been a steady part of their diets for years already. Seems kinda funny that with all the push out there to "eat healthy and naturally" something as fresh as as a backyard egg should raise red flags. That makes as much sense as telling you that you need to eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, as long as you didn't grow them in your backyard garden! As you said, we know what our chickens have been fed, we know they get fresh air and sunshine, and most important we know what they aren't ingesting! So right answer number one is that the eggs you gather are probably just as safe for you and for baby as store bought eggs.

On the other hand, there are two lives we are talking about, and I don't know many pregnant moms who won't turn themselves inside out to have a strong, healthy pregnancy and baby. If it makes your doctor more comfortable to have you stop with the fresh eggs, think of it this way - it's only for a few months. Even if he's way off base, that's really not our call to make. I rolled my eyes at some of the things my children's OB/GYN told them to do or not to do when they were expecting our grandchildren, but kept quiet. No Tylenol? I'd have spent months in bed with backaches and headaches if I hadn't been able to use that while I was pregnant, and the babies were just fine. No fresh fish? Holy Smokes, I craved fresh fish my entire second pregnancy and hubby made the supreme sacrifice of fishing every weekend just to satisfy me. Poor guy -- work, work work!

So the second right answer is to stop eating the fresh eggs and use store eggs. His job is to take you through the next few months and have the end result be a healthy you and baby. Your job, as I see it, is to do whatever he asks of you in order to help achieve that!

Congratulations on the new little one you are eagerly awaiting! The best advice I ever got when I was pregnant was when my Mom told me there are two kinds of advice - the advice that you are able to comply with and the advice that you can safely ignore. She told me my job was to sort out the wheat from the chaff based on my own common sense.

 

[3goodeggs]

I agree with that ridgerunner.
Fish was on the list of 'NO!" and then they decided that the fish fats helped fetal brain development.

You need to follow what you feel is comfortable.
I went without fish alcohol chocolate and coffee.
It was a long pregnancy, but I had a great little kid that I adored, and still do. (the little part does not last)

congratulations!

 

[donrae]

Uhhh,,, call me chemo-brain, but I didn't think most eggs in the store are pasteurized. I thought you had to look for them special if you wanted them. It's been so long since I bought store eggs I may be speaking out of turn, someone correct me if I'm wrong.

I also thought pasteurizing was necessary only if you were going to be using the eggs in undercooked or raw recipes. If you're going to cook your eggs to a proper temperature, I think pasteurizing is redundant.

Honestly, if I were going to use eggs uncooked or undercooked, I'd be much more likely to use my own than a store bought egg. But I'd probably avoid those recipes altogether while pregnant.


congratulations, btw! Babies are so cool

and

 

[Peep a Cheep]

First off, congratulations!!! I was recently researching this subject myself - for future use As stated above, your doctor is there to protect you and your baby during pregnancy, but they also have to protect themselves in our sue-happy culture. Every doctor has a level of risk they are willing to take, based on their level of experience, personal views (bias), and what research they have done/read. For example, I had one friend who told me her OB happily told her that 3-5 oz. of red wine a couple once in a while after the first trimester was fine. I had another friend's OB tell her to drink coke for her acid reflux problems (it did help a lot, said friend told me). And i've had friends whose OB's told them no to Alcohol, soda, fish, lunch meat, and to drink bottled water.

Most US eggs are not pasteurized, just washed. If they are pasteurized, they will say so (mostly this is egg product, which is in a carton or powdered). Increasingly whole eggs are also pasturized, and then coated in a wax-like coating over the shell. From my personal research, I have found this article at the Mayo Clinic website, which (my personal opinion) seems to be a good rule of thumb for eggs. My personal opinion is that your doctor's job is to advise you. Your job is to do your research, talk to your loved ones, and make the decision you can live with. Also, it never hurts to ask "why" (in a polite and learning way of course). Make sure you understand your doctors basis for saying no farm fresh eggs. He/she may have just read that in a journal, and maybe you can learn something together.

(from the Mayo Clinic Article) Avoid undercooked meat, poultry and eggs

​

During pregnancy, you're at increased risk of bacterial food poisoning. Your reaction might be more severe than if you weren't pregnant. Rarely, food poisoning affects the baby, too.
To prevent foodborne illness:

• Fully cook all meats and poultry before eating. Use a meat thermometer to make sure.
• Cook hot dogs and luncheon meats until they're steaming hot — or avoid them completely. They can be sources of a rare but potentially serious foodborne illness known as listeriosis.
• Avoid refrigerated pates and meat spreads. Canned and shelf-stable versions, however, are OK.
• Cook eggs until the egg yolks and whites are firm. Raw eggs can be contaminated with harmful bacteria. Avoid foods made with raw or partially cooked eggs, such as eggnog, raw batter, and freshly made or homemade hollandaise sauce and Caesar salad dressing.

 

[littlethorn]

As stated above, your doctor is there to protect you and your baby during pregnancy, but they also have to protect themselves in our sue-happy culture. Every doctor has a level of risk they are willing to take, based on their level of experience, personal views (bias), and what research they have done/read. For example, I had one friend who told me her OB happily told her that 3-5 oz. of red wine a couple once in a while after the first trimester was fine. I had another friend's OB tell her to drink coke for her acid reflux problems (it did help a lot, said friend told me). And i've had friends whose OB's told them no to Alcohol, soda, fish, lunch meat, and to drink bottled water.

I have thought about this sort of thing for my own use and I really think this is the answer. He is doing what he needs to protect himself. I also think that if you are looking for a yes or no answer from others, you are unlikely to get it for the same reason.

In the end you need to take whatever action YOU feel most comfortable and safe with. Either way just make sure you wash your hands after handling and cook them well because even if someone is not pregnant, they can get food poisoning if they aren't doing safe handling practices.

And CONGRATULATIONS

 

[lazy gardener]

My how the times have changed. When I was in high school, one of my best friends got pregnant. Her doctor DEMANDED that she eat an egg every day. I'm sure he didn't care a bit where that egg came from! (then came the years where eggs were on the naughty list) Store bought eggs are not pasteurized. There is risk in everything. Constant recalls of everything from fresh produce to chicken and beef due to contamination of one sort or an other. If it's produced at home, you know how it's been handled/processed. I'm not at all advising you to go against his orders. You'll have to choose your own path on this one. I can agree that it would be wise to cook eggs well for the remainder of your pregnancy. Give up the over-easy in favor of scrambled. Congrats! And I wish you a healthy, uneventful pregnancy, easy delivery, and healthy baby.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

I agree with the others about the pasteurization. Most store eggs are not pasteurized, only washed.

The poultry vet at my school just tells everybody to make sure you fully cook the eggs (so no runny yolk) and you will pretty much eliminate any risk of disease. I don't think you would have an issue as long as you cook the eggs enough, but I'm only certified in emergency medicine for people and I mostly work with animal medicine these days, so what do I know? ;-P

 

[Cartie422]

Thank you everyone for the well wishes and advice. This is my 2nd but my doctors mentioned nothing of eggs before. Likewise, with baby 1 I was told conflicting advice. Red wine was ok but fish and lunch meat was not. Now fish is ok and eggs aren't.
I'm not sure that I was looking for someone to tell me that they do or do not personally believe that unpasteurized eggs were safe. He's a new doctor so I don't know him well enough to gage if he's reasonable or freaks out over everything. Unfortunately, I think he might fall into the latter. I tried researching online and couldn't find anything conclusive from a medical perspective if they were safe or not, or really what the concerns about them are. All I could find about them was just proper cleaning and cooking methods (i.e. no runny eggs.) My doctor didn't want to discuss it really with me so I may ask one of the other doctors at my next appointment. He just said no farm fresh, only pasturized, even after I explained that they were my own. I completely understand the concerns for my baby and haven't eaten any eggs since finding out and I'm sure I could survive fine without eating them. I was just curious if anyone else had heard about this before. Thanks again for your responses.