Pregnancy and Soft Serve Ice Cream

Hi L.,

When I was pregnant I ate ice cream or milk shakes every day. It was one of those cravings I had. Everything was fine my son is almost 4 & he & I are fine.

Unless it has something to do with lactos intolerance, it's news to me. In my 60 years I never heard of such a thing unless the mother was sopose to watch her weight gain.

The problem is three-fold. First, sanitation with the equipment appears to be an on-going problem - not every company is as good as it should be about keeping the equipment clean. This could be minimized in a store situation where only the store employees handle the machine. Regular cleaning of machines with soap and sanitizer could reduce the number of bacteria found on the soft serve machines.

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Second, soft serve is kept at a warmer temperature than regular ice cream so any bacteria present have a better chance of multiplying or multiplying faster.

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Third, there is a bacteria (Listeria moncytogenes) that is contained in soft cheeses, cold cuts, soft serve, etc. that is harmless to adults and even children, but attacks the unborn child causing still births and miscarriages. In newborns it causes sepsis, pneumonia and meningitis. The bacteria is found in soil, water, and plants and unlike other bacteria this one grows in cool moist environments. It is found in other foods, but other foods are cooked before serving, thereby killing the bacteria.

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SO skip the soft serve for a while.

Sources: http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/2008/05/articles/liste...

Go for the good stuff, Oberwiess that has no hormones added to their dairy, neither does Ben and Jerry's, but be careful of the transfats in Ben and Jerry's though, there are decent flavors! Whole Foods sells a delicious coconut milk ice cream, high in fiber, good fats (vanilla bean is my favorite) and many benefits eating coconut based products, especially for pregnant women.

I hadn't heard that but if you are craving...there is a Kosher soft serve option at Dairy Star located at 3472 W. Devon in Lincolnwood. I'm not Jewish but their signs say that one particular ice cream machine is Kosher, which I am assuming means that it is inspected by the Rabbi to make sure it is cleaned especially well and does not touch contaminants. (Excuse m;y ignorance and correct me if I'm wrong ladies.)

haven't heard this. Just checking your posts below to find out because I'm pregnant too.

That's silly! I ate it during both of my pregnancies. The one thing to watch out for is the extra weight you gain! lol

I never heard of this! I have 2 children and had milkshakes and soft serve ice cream probably at least a dozen times during each pregnancy :)

I'm going to agree w / the other two posts. Never heard of it, and couldn't stay away from DQ!

I never heard of that, only soft cheeses. Good question!

You have got to be kidding me. How did the human race even survive before these doctors became SO knowledgeable? UGH! My doctors never mentioned this to me. I probably would have laughed at them if they did. I ate soft serve ice cream and had milkshakes with both my pregnancies. I now have a 2 1/2 year old and a 2 1/2 month old. Both are healthy and survived even though I ate soft serve ice cream.

Someone just told me they heard this and I think it's crazy. I can see avoiding custard because it has raw eggs in it but not icecream. Milkshakes are something that's recommended for underweight pregnant women to ramp up on their calories so where this came from, I have no idea. Icecream is practically a food group to me now that I'm pregnant again, lol.

Hmmm, I've never heard of that. With my daughter, who is now 18 months, my craving was DQ soft-serve twist icecream. I had an ice cream cone almost every day, and I never had a problem with anything....She's healthy as can be.
Not sure if this helps, but I thought I'd share my experience.
J.

As C D said, seems to be the issues of cleaning the machines. Regarding listeria in general, I talked to my doctor at the beginning of my pregnancy regarding if I should avoid foods with listeria (e.g. lunchmeat, certain cheeses, etc.). He said that yes, it is bad if your baby gets exposed to listeria in the womb. But no link has been made to how that happens - not even a link to eating those foods. So it is unproven as to how the baby actually gets exposed. In his 25 years of practice, he has only seen 1 case where the baby had been exposed to listeria.

You're suppose to avoid soft serve ice cream specifically, not the regular ice cream in cartons, because the machines often aren't cleaned properly and can introduce you to Listeria, which is very dangerous in pregnancy.

Good question...I've never even heard of this restriction. I just had a baby 7 months ago and my dr. never once mentioned avoiding this. Where did you hear it? I would talk to your doctor if it is a concern of yours.

The problem is three-fold. First, sanitation with the equipment appears to be an on-going problem - not every company is as good as it should be about keeping the equipment clean. This could be minimized in a store situation where only the store employees handle the machine. Regular cleaning of machines with soap and sanitizer could reduce the number of bacteria found on the soft serve machines.
Second, soft serve is kept at a warmer temperature than regular ice cream so any bacteria present have a better chance of multiplying or multiplying faster.
Third, there is a bacteria (Listeria moncytogenes) that is contained in soft cheeses, cold cuts, soft serve, etc. that is harmless to adults and even children, but attacks the unborn child causing still births and miscarriages. In newborns it causes sepsis, pneumonia and meningitis. The bacteria is found in soil, water, and plants and unlike other bacteria this one grows in cool moist environments. It is found in other foods, but other foods are cooked before serving, thereby killing the bacteria.
SO skip the soft serve for a while.

Sources: http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/2008/05/articles/liste...

All I know is that Dairy Queen has ingredients that help keep the ice cream from melting. I think the icecream has polysorbate 80. I don't know about the milk shakes. Please post your answers because I would like to know.
Thanks,
Cathy

I know all about pregnancy and milkshakes... I had one every week while I was pregnant! NEVER heard about avoiding them. It's not on the March of Dimes "bad" list (which I consider authoritative) so I wouldn't worry about avoiding it. Are you sure you're not mistaking this for raw-milk soft cheeses?

The only reason that I know of to avoid shakes while pregnant is because if you're not careful, you may gain excessive amounts of weight. And trust me, it's not all that easy to lose! lol They really do satisfy though! :-) My three babies turned out okay.

I heard of the listeria also, but was a milkshake junkie with Connor. I would just make sure you get your ice cream from a reputable place that seems clean. You cannot worry about everything or you will never enjoy your pregancy!

Never heard of that! I too, craved ice cream and my gyne told me to drink milkshakes often since I tend to be underweight and had trouble gaining enough weight during pregnancy. Wonder what the reason could be....

I just started my 3rd trimester and I have never heard that you should avoid milkshakes or soft serve. Actually my Dr. encouraged me to get some of my calories in milkshakes to get the extra dairy. I'm also taking the Bradley Birthing classes that are very big on nutrition in pregnancy and they don't mention anything about avoiding soft serve or milkshakes. Again they encourage the use of milkshakes to get your dairy and extra calories. If you hear a good reason I'd love to hear about it.

I have never heard of that. I probably had ice cream almost every night with both of my pregnancies.

Hi, I googled this from Mayo Clinic...Sounds like you can get this from many things...and there was a reference about pregnant women being more susceptible. And unborn fetuses being exposed to it can be dangerous. So if you want to give up eating everything...well then....Your best bet is probably to handle foods safely...If you love milkshakes...why not make your own...and eat more at home than out...I know many people who are very careful about what they eat and what they feed their kids, yet they eat out in trendy restaurants all of the time...chances are your risks are higher even doing that. Just prepare your foods safely...and personally if you are afraid of the milkshake thing...make your own...I am not even sure what chemicals are even in soft serve ice cream...Those dippin dots make me very nervous. Anything that is chemically treated....who knows??? I sure don't. ANd as far as all natural...my pediatrician says sure you can do it...But many are not even sure how many "organic" products are truly "organic"...a friend of mine said something about USDA symbol...so watch for that...but again...
From mayoclinic website...
"Listeria infections are caused by eating food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes — bacteria found in soil and water. Many wild and domestic animals also carry listeria.

Vegetables can become contaminated from the soil or from contaminated manure used as fertilizer, and infected animals can contaminate meat. Unpasteurized milk or foods made with unpasteurized milk may contain listeria. And certain processed foods — such as soft cheeses, hot dogs and deli meats — can become contaminated after processing. In a few cases, contaminated ice cream has been linked to listeria outbreaks."

Honestly L....your best bet..is to have faith..and to spend time holding and loving that little baby coming. I think we can all go nuts worrying about what the books say. What does you doctor say? ALthough many doctors are not up to par on everything, many have had kids too. Yes, our world is changing...but there are some things you just can't stop from happening. The last thing you need to be doing is blaming yourself for something that may not even happen in the future. By the way, I have three kids...I drank coffee, had a milkshake or 2 I am sure, ate hotdogs, and probably even a glass of wine.( Although don't drink, fetal alchohol syndrome)The only problems my kids have is that they are a little hyper at times...but no way more hyper than anyone around them. So they are kids. And that is hyper from my perspective.When I am ready to take a nap and they are ready to run a marathon. The teachers love them. And so does my priest. The worse critics out there.LOL...PS I am a temporarily retired special ed teacher...so I am not criticizing either profession. Enjoy your pregnancy...what a treat to go out for ice cream with your hubby...without a child yet...before you know it, you will be taking your son or daughter...and you better bring a whole package of baby wipes for that trip...The dairy will be great for you now too.

From what I was told when I was pregnant, it's largely because the machines aren't cleaned as often as they could be and bacteria that normally wouldn't be an issue to a reasonably healthy adult (or even a reasonably healthy kid) could accumulate. It's not something I really wanted to take a chance on with the lowered defenses of the preggo body.

Besides, Oberweis has much tastier hard ice cream if you've got a jones... :)