Forbidden Food

Medium rare is not allowed

While in Tokyo, I went out to dinner with a few female colleagues. Of the 6 Japanese who were at the table, 3 of them had worked overseas for a few years (USA, Germany and Thailand). Besides me, there were a 3 colleagues from France, one based in Malaysia, one in Japan and the last from France. So it was a very international and interesting group, and I felt privileged to be a part of it that night.

Our conversation revolved around many topics, sharing our very different cultures and work experiences with each other but it invariably went to food. One of the French ladies was pregnant - she told us that she could not take sushi or drink any alcohol, something which was very difficult for her since she loved raw fish. The Japanese women exclaimed astonishment, they ate raw food and drank (in moderation, one quickly added) all through pregnancy. How can we avoid sushi, another woman exclaimed. This is Japan!

Sake labels outside an izakaya

Apparently French women were told to avoid non-pasteurised cheese and raw food all through pregnancy. Cigarettes, caffeine and alcohol were out of bounds too.

I remember an American friend telling me that she had to avoid a long list of food, including fishes with high mercury content. She carried the list around with her and showed it to the waiter in every restaurant that we went to. It must have been common practice in the US, for all the waiters handled her questions professionally and in a knowledgeable way.

Besides the usual cigarettes, caffeine and alcohol, I don't know if there are any taboo foods for expectant mothers in Singapore. My mother is often "blamed" for taking too much dark soya sauce when I was in her tummy because I turned out dark-skinned and have a dark birthmark on my body. My sister-in-law avoided all dark-coloured foods throughout both her pregnancies. My niece and nephew were indeed fair-skinned and extremely cute.

What forbidden foods are there for expectant mother? Are they scientifically proven or just old wives' tales?