SOAPBox Moment: Scaring Pregnant Women is NOT ok for Mom OR Baby

We've all heard the warnings:

Don't eat tuna

Watch your peanut butter intake- you know, in case your baby is allergic...

NO sushi for you!

A glass of wine? Guffaw, your child will clearly be born with fetal alcohol syndrome

Don't lift anything over 30 lbs. 

Etc. 

Really?! What did women for the past x-hundred years do?! It just enrages me when pregnant women are made to feel "scared" of everything from mayonnaise to getting fat to touching cat poop and lifting their other kids. 

I am certainly not claiming to be a doctor, but my opinions are based on my own multiple pregnancies, and the backing of my own doctor. Now granted, I also have a history of not enjoying following rules LOL, but I do all of the above. 

I eat tuna (just NOT everyday) 

I eat PB everyday. Multiple times a day. NEITHER of my kids are allergic to nuts. 

I eat sushi (fresh, wonderful sushi. and NOT everyday)

I do occasionally enjoy a glass of organic red wine.

I lift both my other kids daily. I have to. My oldest is now about 46 lbs. I also lift groceries, laundry, and dog food. That's just the way life goes. 

Life as a mom, or preparing for motherhood, requires particular attention to many daily activities we used to take for granted. It's harder to fit your other kids on your lap, you can barely (if at all) reach your legs to shave, everything hurts, it's hard to bend, you can't vacuum or take out the trash without becoming winded, all while most of the time feeling nauseous or puking. 

At the same time, all of your regular responsibilities are still required of you: whether at work, or at home. Other kids still need your attention, your house still needs to be cleaned, your job still needs to get done. The LAST thing pregnant women need are additional scare tactics to make them THAT much more worried about miscarriage, or some horrible birth defect(s) due to what they may or may not be ingesting. 

Ok, off soapbox. :)