Week 6, Day 3: First dr appt

So today I had my first appointment at the GP – to confirm the pregnancy and get a referral. LOTS of red tape to take care of me, but she imparted these food-related morsels of advice, which she called “the big four”:

• Avoid soft cheeses, particularly ones with rinds. Hard cheddars are fine – but nothing spreadable. (BOO! I love cheese!  But goodbye Brie, Camenbert, soft blues – for now.)
• Make sure all meat and eggs are fully cooked. (So no lovely nearly-blue steak, pink lamb, rare burgers. To be honest, this may mean I avoid some red meats – I’ve never been a fan of ‘well-done’.)
• Bagged or prepared salads: Even if it says it’s been washed, wash it again yourself. (I think I do this anyway.)
• Alcohol: current advice is to avoid it completely. (Not sure about this yet, more on this later no doubt.

But this isn’t all of it – a quick look on the NHS’s EatWell website tells you more. Bless ‘em, they’ve done their best to make it clear, but in some ways it just makes me nervous. For example, listeria’s been found in loads of things, not just soft cheeses: lunchmeats, packaged sandwiches, and so on. But we don’t need to avoid them. SO WHY EVEN MENTION IT???! (Okay, rant over. Hormones flaring.),

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