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lahaina
Guest Paddler
  
05/10/2011 11:54AM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
Hi! My husband and I are planning several trips into the BWCA this summer and I am pregnant with our first child due in November. We've been to the BWCA many times, but its been a couple years and I'm having a hard time thinking of foods that are safe to eat while I am pregnant. One of our staple lunch foods is summer sausage and cheese pitas, but I'm not thinking that will still be safe to eat without refrigeration. Any ideas would be most appreciated!
 
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05/10/2011 12:35PM  
Congratulations on your pregnancy!

If you get small summer sausages and eat them all at once, they will be safe (not opening them ahead of time). Hard cheese will be fine, too, unrefrigerated. If hard cheese does get a bit of mold, just cut it off and it's fine.

I would not risk fresh eggs while pregnant, and would not eat any fish.

You could also check out the no-cook meal recipes at the trailcooking website for great lunch options. A favorite of mine in that group (about 3/4 of the way down the first page) is the Southwest Chicken Corn Wraps recipe. You can order dehydrated veggies from Packit Grourmet.
 
05/10/2011 12:51PM  
Listeria is a serious food born disease that can harm the baby during pregnancy. Any of the prepared meats, lunch meat, sausages etc.. are at risk for this bacteria. Soft cheese and unrefridgerated cheeses are also at risk. The CDC has some good information on listeria and what to avoid.

Eating lots of carbs will keep your energy level up, will give you the calories you need and most are safe in the woods. Pita with humus, the prepackaged containers are nice and light weight. The prepackaged tuna with cracker lunch kits are another good source of clean protein.

Keep VERY well hydrated. You should be drinking a nalgeen bottle of filtered water almost every other hour- maybe some powdered Gatorade every third bottle or so. Unfortunately if you are well hydrated you will have to stop and pee a lot.

Listeria in Pregnancy
CDC guide to Listeria
 
lahaina
  
05/10/2011 01:13PM  
Thank you very much to both of you! Ripple - I saw from your profile that you are a Certified Nurse Midwife. I especially appreciate your information given your expertise.
 
05/10/2011 01:49PM  
quote lahaina: "Thank you very much to both of you! Ripple - I saw from your profile that you are a Certified Nurse Midwife. I especially appreciate your information given your expertise."

Welcome to the site- you will find there are SO many experts on really just about anything you need to know about going to the BWCA.

Have a great trip and a healthy safe pregnancy!
 
05/10/2011 02:08PM  
I forgot about sandwich meats and listeria.

;-)

How many weeks along will you be, lahaina?
 
lahaina
  
05/10/2011 02:45PM  
We don't have any dates set as of yet, but will most-likely go 2-3 times this summer. We live very close to the BWCA so it's easy for us to get there. I'm currently 11 1/2 weeks pregnant.
 
05/10/2011 03:00PM  
quote lahaina: "We don't have any dates set as of yet, but will most-likely go 2-3 times this summer. We live very close to the BWCA so it's easy for us to get there. I'm currently 11 1/2 weeks pregnant."

With a due date at the end of November (26-27?) you won't hit your 3rd trimester until the end of August. Traveling/being in the woods during the second trimester is usually very safe and comfortable as long as you don't have any other risk factors.

Most pregnant women get an ultrasound somewhere around 20wks- the cervical length is often observed then (this can tell you if you are at risk for preterm issues)

If your CNM or MD says you are well enough to be in the BWCA- just take it easy, let someone else do most of the heavy work. This is a great time to base camp and lightly paddle.
 
05/10/2011 03:10PM  
This is also an excuse to get a really good sleeping pad, if you don't already have one. I recommend an Exped Downmat.

;-)
 
05/10/2011 03:12PM  
lahaina-
This was from a post I made last year in regards to pregnancy in the BWCA-

I am a Certified Nurse Midwife and have been taking care of pregnant women for 25 years now. I work at Prentice Women's Hospital and have access to some of the most brilliant high risk OB's in the world.

This is the advice for any pregnant women who wants to do something like go to the BWCA.

First Trimester (up to 12 weeks)
Even with a history of miscarriage- there would be no restrictions. All the evidence we have is that there is nothing that can be done to prevent a spontaneous abortion if one is going to occur. There is no physical activity that has been shown to cause a pregnancy loss in a a well established, genetically normal pregnancy.

Second Trimester (13-27 weeks)
Unless you have been told you are risk for preterm labor, have elevated blood pressures or other high risk issue- going out into the woods is perfectly healthy. There are some guidelines and restrictions though-
-Pregnant women should not lift more than 20lb
-They should not get over heated (hot tubs, over exertion etc...)
-They should keep their heart rate under 140 beats per min
-They should stay well hydrated, take lots of rests, and pay attention to signs of fatigue or cramping. Any bleeding, leaking fluid or decreeased movements in the baby, headaches or blurred vision should send her to the nearest hospital.

Third Trimester (28-40 weeks)
The same as for the second trimester- yet women should be aware that they could deliver and be somewhat near a site to have a baby at.

A few other misconceptions that were discussed.
- All of the vital development in an embryo is done before most women have a positive pregnancy test (about 6 wesks)
- Once you are able to find a fetal heart beat on ultrasound or by doppler, there is only about a 1-2% chance of a miscarriage.
-Bleeding does happen with a miscarriage, but the vast majority of the time it is only related to the loss of the baby and placenta is self limiting- almost no one will die of blood loss due to a 12 weeks miscarriage.

The best answer to whether a woman should go to the BWCA while pregnant is - what ever she feels best doing keeping in mind the above advise- and/or whatever her provider has told her to do.

Having said all of that- my patients often really only care about my experience as the Mom of 5 kids.

My experinece is that in the first 20 weeks you need a nap to make it to your next nap.

"Morning sickness" is like being seasick ALL of time.

After 20 weeks- you feel great! Totally alive and capable- but have to be reminded to chill a bit more than you are used to. No you don't need to carry the pack or the canoe- just sit and paddle! Enjoy being taken care of.

By the time you are 34-36 weeks your back hurts, you cramp more, sleeping gets hard even in your own fluffy bed- why would you want to make it harder to get around? Risking a delivery in the woods seems a bit like caring more about your own needs rather than relinquishing the fact that you are now responsible for someone else. I am a midwife, I know that a well healthy woman is supposed to be able to have a baby without complication- but in the BWCA far away from any help if it was necessary? Again- this isn't just about you anymore.
 
lahaina
  
05/10/2011 07:15PM  
Thanks nojobro! I'll check into that sleeping pad. The other times we've gone we've actually packed in a twin sized air mattress and shared it, but I don't think that will work very well pregnant. :0)

Thanks for all of your information too ripple! I feel much better having read it. I have an appt with my MD on Friday and was planning on discussing all of this with her as well, but I'm not sure she has much experience with camping in the BWCA so I don't know how specific she could be.

One more question. I'm curious what you would suggest as to filtering water. Is the filter enough or should it be boiled as well?

Thank you both again! It's much appreciated!
 
05/11/2011 08:45AM  
quote ripple: "My experinece is that in the first 20 weeks you need a nap to make it to your next nap."


Ha ha ha......so true!

And the morning sickness....who ever named it that was an idiot. Maybe the name came about because the pregnant, sick woman was only awake in the morning...naps filled the rest of her day. ;-)

I went camping in my third trimester with my second baby. Only we camped near to home and I went back to my nice bed to sleep while my husband and daughter stayed in the tent. LOL. I maybe could have done it if I had had an Exped, though. (I was 31 or 32 weeks.)
 
05/11/2011 12:08PM  
quote lahaina: "One more question. I'm curious what you would suggest as to filtering water. Is the filter enough or should it be boiled as well?"

I think just a good filter is fine- boiling isn't necessary as all the commercial filters sold now get down to the dangerous microbe level.
 
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