Knowing what you should and shouldn’t do while pregnant is quite important. Apart from that, what we consume should be our primary concern due to the fact that as a mom-to-be, you’re now responsible for two human souls.
So, it’s essential to know what you can eat and what you cannot, so in today’s article, we’ll be discussing a very popular query, can you eat lamb when pregnant? Along with the answer, you will find other information regarding eating lamb while pregnant!
Main Points
- Lamb is one of the best things to eat whilst pregnant, and it offers many benefits to you and your baby too!
- Just in one lamb meal, you will bring to your body and your baby’s body proteins, iron, zinc, vitamins, and copper.
- Remember: never eat raw lamb! – It can cause toxoplasmosis, which is a very serious illness!
- The symptoms of toxoplasmosis are similar to flu symptoms, but they are more serious and can give you a harder time.
Can You Eat Lamb When Pregnant?
You can eat lamb when pregnant; it is one of the safest and best meals in any trimester of your pregnancy! Still, remember that you should have a super-cooked lamb, not a pink one!
There are a lot of benefits that lamb as a meal has, but still, repeating again, it is better to have in front an over-cooked lamb than an under-cooked one with blood and pink color!
Also Read: Snacks To Bring at Hospital for Labor.
Benefits of Eating Lamb Whilst Pregnant
As lamb is considered one of the best meals to eat for moms-to-be, it is important to mention the main things they have and the benefits that it provides you with!
Proteins
Lamb is a meal full of proteins and proteins are one of the components many pregnant ladies need!
Proteins always help the fetus grow normally, create a perfect immune system, and also, proteins play one of the main roles in enzymes, and the making of hormones, no matter in what trimester you are!
Iron
Iron is something that everybody needs and not only for your baby! Most pregnant moms have some difficulties when it comes to the blood filling with oxygen, and the iron that lamb meals include will surely help you feel perfect regarding this issue! A baby that gets iron while being on their mom’s belly will always be healthy and will never deal with anemia!
Zinc
Zinc is a mineral that is found in many foods, and it is found in lamb as well! Eating lamb will provide your baby with impressive cell division and good growth overall, and it will help you as a mom prevent preterm births!
Zinc is indeed one of the most minerals that mom-to-be ladies surely need!
Vitamins
Besides everything else, lamb also includes vitamins, the main one being vitamin B12! This vitamin which is found in a high percentage of any type of lamb will help with the development of your baby’s brain and spinal cord. Something that vitamin B12 does to the mother is to maintain the health of the whole nervous system.
Copper
Like zinc, copper is another mineral that babies need while they are in their mom’s bellies! Copper is a perfect mineral to have because it helps the forming of red blood cells, the heart, blood vessels, and the whole nervous and skeletal systems.
Also Read: Can You Eat Biltong as a Mom To Be?
Why Some Pregnant Women Avoid Lamb?
Lamb meals have more advantages than disadvantages, but still, it is essential to mention everything that they own! That’s why I want to include one super important reason why some ladies avoid eating lamb when they are pregnant, especially when they don’t prepare the meal themselves but instead, they eat out!
The important reason many people avoid eating lamb includes toxoplasmosis!
Toxoplasmosis
Toxoplasmosis is a serious infection that comes from the parasite Toxoplasma Gondii! It is essential to mention that this infection happens when you eat raw meat or any other thing that includes raw milk.
When I say raw meat, I mean the lamb meals that aren’t properly cooked! When the lamb is pink (as I mentioned above), it includes the Toxoplasma Gondii parasite, and people that are more at risk from this infection are pregnant women.
Toxoplasmosis does damage to babies as well! You should remember that if you eat raw lamb, which is uncooked properly, and when there is blood, your baby may go under congenital malformation, which is an anomaly that can only happen while they are on your belly. Also, a baby that gets toxoplasmosis while on their mom’s belly can deal with eye diseases when they grow bigger.
Yet again, you better talk with your doctor or gynecologist, so that you can have a clearer idea of this cause. Something I would advise you is: to avoid and really stay away from lamb that isn’t cooked as it should be.
What symptoms does toxoplasmosis have?
Now that you know what this illness is, it is vital to know some of the symptoms that it may bring to a pregnant woman!
The main symptoms that a pregnant lady will have when they go under toxoplasmosis include headache, fatigue, blurry vision, eye redness, swollen glands, and fever.
These symptoms can also be symptoms of the flu, but once you have them after you ate some kind of raw lamb, it is better to leave yourself in the hands of specialists in this field, of course after consulting with your gynecologist!
Also read: Can You Eat Quinoa as a Mom To Be?
Final Words
All and all, I think you pretty much have your answer! Although, remember that raw lamb meat should be avoided as much as you can.
I said in the article that lamb has more advantages for pregnant ladies when compared to disadvantages, but you should always know them all!
Thanks for reading; I hope you liked everything I included in this article!
I am a stay-at-home mom of a wonderful son. I write on this blog as a hobby to help fellow mothers in their parental journey 🙂