Well, my wife did a 100% paleo diet pretty much ignoring any conventional wisdom stuff. Though, she did avoid raw foods like the raw eggs and sushi. For her is was a cost-benefit thing. It's easy to give up on the raw foods even though she loves sushi just to not have the added risk of getting any food poisoning. Don't follow rules for rules sake, but also don't just throw them all out just because you don't want to follow conventional wisdom. Examine each case independently and see what the risks and costs are for you and make your decisions that way.

First pregnancy I followed all the rules, and then with the second, all I've wanted is what is on the forbidden list, so I did some research and have come to the conclusion that much of what we are told is waaaay overblown.

If you are eating pastured steaks, you don't have to cook them all the way through, just make sure the outside is sufficiently seared to kill any cooties that may have accumulated during processing. A well done steak makes me gag because of an enhanced gag reflex during pregnancy, but one cooked perfectly rare or medium-rare I have found to still be palatable.

Many aged cheeses are now pasteurized, so the listeria threat is greatly diminished, you just have to check the ingredients list. With fresh raw milk, the threat of running into anything nasty with it is far less than getting in a car accident, and I haven't seen any suggestions that pregnant women shouldn't ride in automobiles.

If the regulations about sushi are the same in the UK as they are in the US that fish has gone into a deep freeze for 2 weeks, killing any potential parasites. There is an eensy-weensy risk of listeria if it sits around raw for too long, but not enough that I stopped eating it with this pregnancy (don't buy sushi on Wednesday in Japan, you can check when your local restaurant gets its shipment, and plan accordingly).

Caesar salad was one of the only things that consistently sounded good to me in the first few months of being pregnant, so I just started making it at home from scratch, raw egg and all. Salmonella poisoning is supposedly no different in pregnant women than in non-pregnant women, and shouldn't threaten a pregnancy, and the chance of being exposed to it even with commercial eggs is less than 1 in 10,000 eggs. I've also been thinking that the amount of lemon juice and vinegar in the dressing should be anti-bacterial, and make the dressing safer than say raw yolks in a smoothie.

I can't stand cooking smells in the first 3-4 months of pregnancy either, so deli meat has made a common appearance on my plate. Again this is on the forbidden list because of listeria fears, but I just stick to high quality versions. If you are feeling paranoid you can nuke it for 10 seconds.

I understand the ambivalence thing too. It is well within the range of normal and healthy feelings, it is a life changing rite of passage. Whenever people start asking about how happy I must be, my response usually is, "I will be once the (nausea/swelling/shortness of breath/etc. is over)". I love the middle of pregnancy, the first part you just have to survive, and that is usually when you are telling people, and the last part is when strangers keep trying to feel up your belly like it is community property. Hang in there. There are some cool parts of pregnancy, but I have found it to be far more sentimental and precious to those not actually doing the gestating.

I don't know of any risk w/ (cooked) liver...as for the others, all I can say is I know of pregnant women in Japan who eat sushi and pregnant women in France who eat raw milk cheese, as well as pregnant women in our anxiety-ridden cultures who ate suspect foods prior to knowing they were pregnant or without knowing they were supposed to avoid them.

For me, the cost-benefit is whether it's going to make me worry -- stress is no good for pregnancy (or in general). I have some phobias around getting sick, so I've been adhering to the well-cooked guidelines just for my own sanity.

The fear with raw items is foodborne illness, like salmonella and listeria. If you can get your raw items from a reputable source and are quite sure of their lack of contamination, they in themselves won't hurt you.

ETA: poking around on this topic, I came across a heartening article and promptly indulged in some unfried salami: see http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2860824/?tool=pubmed

My wife ate this stuff:

http://paleohacks.com/questions/49623/how-girl-eat-while-forming-babby#axzz22D6uZNU6

..and we have a beautiful, happy, healthy little 6 month old boy who has been (and still is) exclusively breast fed by mama. Our doctor says he is basically a perfect baby.

The proof is in the pudding... at least for us anyway ;)

Congratulations!

As far as the raw egg yolk in homemade mayo goes, use vinegar to kill harmful bacteria. Here's a little something on that: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1472-765X.1990.tb00085.x/abstract

Plus, I think it's interesting that there is so much talk about the dangers of raw egg yolks, yet people eat fried eggs with runny yolks all the time and live to tell about it.

As far as fish goes, even the FDA says that pregnant women should eat it twice each week. Just be sure to eat oily ocean fish, like salmon, tuna, and sardines, that contain high amounts of selenium. There are many studies that have taken place around the world showing the benefits of eating fish over taking fish oil.

There was someone who had an interview on Underground Wellness from ppnf.org that I wish you would have heard. He offered some detailed information about the dangers of processed dairy and how to choose a safe raw dairy farmer.

If it helps, think about why the recommendations are made.

Liver: This is due to worries about retinol levels. The evidence for this is pretty scarce when it comes to foods like liver rather than high dose supplements or acne drugs. I would not worry about eating a portion of liver a week.

Raw dairy: This is due to worries about listeria infection which is a real concern although it is a rare problem. I would not recommend raw dairy products when pregnant just as a precaution as you become much more susceptible when pregnant and the effects can be severe. There are other foods that carry just as much of a risk of listeria that may be worth avoiding as a precaution when pregnant. Still there were only 17 cases in pregnant women in the UK in 2010 so it is very rare.

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Listeriosis/Pages/Introduction.aspx

Raw egg: This is due to risk of general food poisoning like salmonella. Again the risk is low but the potential outcome serious. I think raw eggs are less of a risk than they used to be and there are many other sources of food poisoning than just raw eggs such as under-cooked chicken or poor kitchen hygiene etc etc.

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/homehygiene/Pages/Foodpoisoningtips.aspx

Limiting oily fish: This due to worries about the levels of pollutants in the sea and fish now. The NHS recommends two portions of oily fish a week as a compromise between getting omega-3 fat and not getting to much pollutants. Eating smaller fish like sardines and mackerel rather than large fish like tuna can reduce the risk from pollution I think and there are many other sources of pollution in our environment now anyway.

As a personal opinion I would say eat your eggs, dairy, liver and fish. You could be cautious and cook or pasteurise the first two. Eat a portion of liver a week without worry and don't worry about the fish. I'm not sure you gain that much from raw dairy and I think you will get the similar benefits cooked eggs as raw.

Eating a healthy diet of nutrient dense whole foods it likely to be one of the best things you can do. It is probably not worth worrying about all the minor details and potential risks too much.

Yay! Congrats!!! :D I also turned to PaleoHacks when I first found out I was pregnant, so I'm sure you'll get lotsa good support here! :) When I could tolerate it (towards the second half of my pregnancy), I ate ALL of the things on the so-called "forbidden" list that you mentioned. I would have pastured raw egg yolks in my breakfast smoothies, cooked liver, oily fish in the form of sardines and wild-caught salmon, and I practically drank raw milk like it was water! :P Just be sure you trust the sources of your food, and it should be okie-dokey.

I basically followed WAPF's recommendations except for the grains. I also had two raw egg yolks in a coconut smoothie almost every day. But know your source. My eggs came from free range chickens and were bought directly from the farmer where I buy grass fed beef. I don't think I would do pasteurized eggs raw.

Choline is very important and found in eggs, seafood, and organ meat...looks like you got it covered, but please read this so it sinks in! Good luck!

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-sick-stress-blame-mom-epigenetics.html

The report shows that choline intake that is higher than what is generally recommended during pregnancy may improve how a child responds to stress. These improvements are the result of epigenetic changes that ultimately lead to lower cortisol levels. Epigenetic changes affect how a gene functions, even if the gene itself is not changed. Lowering cortisol is important as high levels of cortisol are linked to a wide range of problems ranging from mental health to metabolic and cardiovascular disorders.

I can only add my personal experience. I drank raw goats milk throughout... we'd milk about a quart a day from Marshmallow, and I would drink at least half. :) But, I can't/shouldn't tell you what you ought to do.

I tried to think mostly about quality when making decisions.

Eg... Japanese women eat sushi all the time when they are pregnant... but perhaps its fresher there? I don't know the answer.

I DO know the quality of the food that I put into MY mouth though.

Do some research into the actual risks that you are taking and decide for yourself whether or not its worth it. And decide whether the quality makes a difference with regard to how risky it is.

:)

I agree with miked... research for yourself. My best friend followed all of those stupid rules, avoiding EVERYTHING she was told. So what did she eat instead? Practically an entire pizza a day on her own, a package of oreos, ice cream and cake everyday, a crap ton of fruit juice, hotdogs, mass amounts of pasta, etc.

Her baby turned out just fine btw. But what is the trade off by avoiding those specific foods and then consuming mass amounts of SAD crap? I don't see the point.

Moms should just eat healthy, flat out. I don't think you can go wrong just by sticking to paleo during a pregnancy.

Hi - definitely check out info on the Brewer diet as well, for another perspective. I followed some of their recommendations, but avoided most refined sugars and starches. I ate a lot of brown rice, sweet potatoes, beets, squash, and other vegetable sources for carbohydrates. It is possible to have a healthy pregnancy and go against some of the conventional wisdom out there. I was very healthy during and after my pregnancy, and my daughter was quite healthy as well. Due to an allergy I developed during pregnancy, I couldn't eat any dairy at all. I got around it by increasing my calcium from other sources (sardines, almonds, kale, etc). The point is that from a nutrient standpoint you can still get what you need, just do some research about it. I do agree with other comments, weigh benefits/risks carefully when it comes to food safety questions. I was pretty cautious, but I know some over easy eggs and tasty homemade mayo were eaten a few times in there. Ultimately, you are the one who has to do what is right for you, after weighing all the possible pros and cons. Good luck!