Help: Eating During Babymoon in Europe

Congratulations! What a marvelous trip you all have planned! It sounds like you've already been doing your research re. what's okay and not okay to eat. I really hope that you do talk to your health care provider, as the recommendations of even 5-10 years ago - and much longer ago - when many participants on this forum were having babies may not be the most current recommendations. In "my day" it was no soft cheeses, raw meats or raw seafood. I don't know what's been added to that list. I do recall that I was told that staying hydrated is also really important, so water, as always, is your friend!

mgant2011,

I agree with the above post to speak with your health care provider. I was intrigued by your question and found this blog entry from a fellow traveler that may be helpful. We went after the baby on our last trip, so it wasn't on the research list. I'm certainly not an expert on nutrition so I can't vouch for this information but it may be a place to begin.

https://bridgesandballoons.com/food-avoid-pregnant-italy/

It seems you may be right to avoid gelato as some may have raw eggs. I didn't know thanks for bringing this up. I hope you find the information you need. I know you will have a great trip!

Thanks so much! I will definitely talk to my OBGYN about specifics before I leave, just wanted to get a little prepared as we inch closer to our trip and thought I'd check if anyone has traveled to any of these countries recently while pregnant :) That website is super helpful, thank you for passing it along!

I can't see any reason to avoid anything. All the countries you mentioned are full of pregnant women eating the products you mention. Cold meats are fine, they're cooked and as long as they're stored at appropriate temperatures there will be no problem.

My only reticence would be a tartar, specifically steak tartare that includes raw egg.

European women have been giving birth to healthy babies for millenia alongside eating traditional European food, nothing to worry about.

As a pregnant woman in France last century, my diet was definitely restricted. However, the only restriction I remember clearly from 40 years ago was that all red meat had to be thoroughly cooked due to a certain disease I had never heard of before (no, not mad cow). I had to ask for well-done. I also vaguely remember something about organ meat, too, as we went to a Lyonnaise restaurant one evening with friends visiting from Switzerland, and there was little I could order.
European women do deliver healthy babies because they are given diets by their European doctors to follow. Personal experience.

Hopefully, you can get this information by googling each country individually to get the specifics for each country.

I'll just add that if you are concerned about gelato, ask for vegan options. They will often be delicious sorbettos, sometimes made with locally grown fruit. They will have no dairy, eggs or other animal products.

European women have been giving birth to healthy babies for millenia alongside eating traditional European food, nothing to worry about.

Of course this is true. But when you are in your normal environment, you are used to the various bacteria. When you come from other places, this is not so true. The bacteria which do not pose a problem for the locals may pose a problem for an outsider.

OK, here's a sensitive issue: Tap water. I know that in the USA, we never had a single problem with tap water when Wife was preggers. How safe are the tap waters in those places? And of course, with tap water issues, you have raw vegetables/fruits issues. Not trying to be difficult here, just covering what I would think about.

• Tap water - The water in the EU is strictly controlled and probably of a higher quality than much of the water in the US. Care to look at Flint, Mich? There have been no water scandals here.

• Gelato - go for the vegan ones or have a sorbet.

Of course this is true. But when you are in your normal environment, you are used to the various bacteria. When you come from other places, this is not so true. The bacteria which do not pose a problem for the locals may pose a problem for an outsider.

We're not talking 15th Century trans ocean crossing here where visitors introduced the natives to new viruses and bacteria. We now live in a world where (save for a few remote tribes in certain jungle and island areas) there is so much travel, so much personal interaction and so much produce trade that we are all pretty much exposed to the same bacteria/viruses. The OP is travelling to Poland, Italy, Greece and Spain not the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Nicobar Islands or the depths of the Amazon jungle!

Granita, which contains no eggs or dairy products, is available in many Italian ice-cream shops, though I think it is more common in the south. It is particularly refreshing on hot days. You may also see it in the list of available items in fancy ice-cream spots in the other countries. I just recently saw it in Granada, albeit at a place called "Los Italianos".

I would ask locally about the water in Santorini, just to be sure.

Europe in general has WAY healthier food with fewer preservatives, additives, and artificial crap than here in the US. I went to Italy while pregnant, didn’t alter my usual eating habits whatsoever, and my now 12-year-old is fine. :) That being said bring yourself a 12-pack or so or granola bars or something so you can have a familiar snack at a moment’s notice, as you can go from zero to starving maniac in 2 seconds while preggo.

"Cold meats are fine, they're cooked..."

To be pedantic, and I hope helpful, that is incorrect. Lots of traditional cold meats in Europe haven't been cooked, only cured. So the OP may well be right to avoid those (unless known to have been treated by freezing or, I guess, subsequently cooked as part of a dish such as a pizza topping).

More knowledgeable posters will correct me, but I think tiramisu is made with raw eggs. But in most gelato/ice cream/helado (which you'll see a lot of in Poland for some reason), the eggs are cooked. However, you could always have fruit flavours made without any egg if that isn't the case.

It appears that my thoughts on tap water are not popular in our European friends. Of course, "Europe" is a big place, with many countries, and the tap water varies in quality. In Germany, GB, Italy, France, tap water is universally OK, it seems. In some former Communist countries, tap water is less reliable. I put a website link below about tap water throughout Europe. According to this site, as you go East and South, tap water is less trustworthy, especially in rural areas.

https://www.tripsavvy.com/tap-water-in-europe-3150039

It’s absolutely true that most water is fine, but acceptable variations exist. For example, French tap water is fine but very, very hard—full of limestone. If you are a stone-producer (not stoner), beware and be aware. Meanwhile, all that nice fizzy bottled water is high sodium. My French docs told me to drink Evian when I was pregnant in France, and to give that to my baby.

As I said above, check everything locally, as what doctors recommend varies by country. It’s unlikely a US doctor will be up-to-date on the mineral level in local water or the contents of specific foods in Poland, Italy, Greece, and Spain/Catalonia. Check locally. And yes, Europe is stricter regarding food chemicals and added hormones. I’m not sure about nitrates, though.

Evian also has a lot of minerals in it. Its considered medium-hard. Water from wells and springs is generally more mineralized than rivers and reservoirs. No generalizations about a country's water supply can be accurate since there are thousands of water systems and sources in any country - almost 200,000 in the US. The EU standards are almost exactly identical as the US.

To be pedantic, and I hope helpful, that is incorrect. Lots of traditional cold meats in Europe haven't been cooked, only cured.

Yes Nick, you're quite correct and far from being pedantic. I think at the time I was thinking more towards cooked hams rather than the wider range of cured charcuterie but also focusing on Poland where sausages and hams are almost always cooked. My bad and as a foodie I should have known better, I blame the wine.

The official advice when my GF was pregnant recently was to avoid raw or red meat due to the risk if the bacteria toxoplasmosis (I think it is called). Avoid raw milk cheeses (these are mostly soft cheeses and all the good ones) due to the risk of the listeria bacteria. So as long as the soft cheese is cooked, I guess you should be fine. Avoid raw fish as well due to listeria.
Avoid large, predatory fish like tuna, due to high mercury content.
Avoid organ Meat, like liver due to high levels of vitamin A.
And avoid raw eggs or chicken due to salmonella.
The water issue is a tricky one, generally European tap water is very good, but in places like Venice and Santorini that see way to many visitors than the local water supply can handle, you might want to opt for bottled water.

Yes, that’s the disease I had never heard of before living in France: toxoplasmosis. Thanks Morten for refreshing my memory about that and the organ meat—ie, no sweetbreads.

Interesting coincidence related to this other current thread:

organ meats

To be honest im not sure if the warning applies to all organs, liver is the only one emphasised in the official recommendations in Denmark, since that is the only organ we really eat.

JC - I think you are missing the point of the OP’s question. It’s not a matter of Europe being less or more safe than the US (or the Congo). Most OB-Gyns - in the US AND Europe - today recommend that pregnant moms avoid certain foods generally (soft cheese, etc.) I know that my daughter-in-law followed several of these recommendations and never left the States during her two pregnancies. This has changed dramatically since I was pregnant many, many years ago and, I assume, the recommendations are based on scientific studies.

To the OP - I think you would be best served by discussing this in depth with your OB-Gyn rather than asking non-experts on this forum. Or you might want to find a travel clinic that could give you more specific information about the countries you are visiting.

Have a fun trip!

To the OP - I think you would be best served by discussing this in depth with your OB-Gyn rather than asking non-experts on this forum

I believe renee has the best advice

@Renee with all due respect I think the OB GYN (which I assume is some American word for a kind of doctor) can tell you what kind of foods to avoid, such as raw meat, raw fish etc. but may not have clue on how to avoid them when ordering from a menu in the countries the OP will be visiting. Thats where people on this forum can assist.

I agree with Morten. Having been pregnant and given birth in Europe, that was exactly my point too, that each locality could have its own recommendations in addition to the universal ones. Not many here have consulted OBs or midwives in these countries, but maybe someone will show up.
However, it's very common for pharmacists in each of the countries you are going to to dispense advice. They even have little examination booths in some pharmacies. That would be a good place to get the info you need, at a pharmacy each time you arrive in a new country.

For non US readers

What's the difference between OB and GYN?
A gynecologist is a doctor who specializes in women's reproductive health. Obstetricians care for women during their pregnancy and just after the baby is born. They also deliver babies. An ob-gyn is trained to do all of these things.