Eating out when pregnant

M&B’ panellist Sonali Shivlani is an Internationally Certified Pregnancy Consultant and a child nutrition counsellor. She is the executive director of CAPPA India, and also trains aspiring birth professionals to achieve certification in pregnancy, birth and lactation counselling.

- Sonali Shivlani

During a recent diet consultation, when I got to the section on ‘eating out’ preferences, the young couple on call immediately said, “No way, we have completely stopped eating outside food since we got the news that we are expecting.” I am getting to hear this more and more during my consults, as parents want to do the best for their babies, without wanting to take any chances. I can’t really blame them—afterall, COVID-19 still looms large, and there is still no known effect on a pregnancy. But is it really necessary to completely forego small pleasures and enjoyments? Well, maybe not.