Should I just stick to textile crafts?
January 16, 2018 6:18 AM Subscribe
I am planning a pregnancy this year, and I’m also planning several hobby projects that might not be compatible with pregnancy. I’m looking for a sanity check about the level of risk these projects carry, and if I can mitigate that risk with some precautions.
First things first: I know I’ll have to decide for myself how much risk I’m willing to carry, and that the only 100% safe path may be to avoid these projects altogether. I’m hoping to gain more of an understanding of what the scientific and medical literature says about this before I take that step.
Gardening: I want to expand my vegetable garden with another raised bed and a bunch of containers. I am worried about toxoplasmosis. We have a suburban fenced-in backyard, but get squirrels, birds, the occasional fox or stray cat. Will wearing gloves (any particular kind?) and frequent hand washing be enough?
Canning/preserving: Relatedly, I want to preserve a lot of the food that I grow. I took a 2-day canning course with my local state extension, so I feel confident that I’m doing the right techniques. I use tested recipes from the Ball book, or extension websites. I guess here I’m worried about botulism and other food-borne illnesses. Would it be safer to stick to high-acid (i.e. water bath) canning and skip pressure canning? How about fermentation (I want to make sauerkraut)?
Homebrewing: I want to try out brewing some beer and cider. Obviously there’s the alcohol factor, but is there any other reason I shouldn’t do this? Like, is it possible to get sick from making errors or not properly santizing your equipment, or does that just make for terrible tasting beer?
The homebrewing project is the one I’d be most happy to wait on, since it will probably be more satisfying to be able to get drunk on my results instead of just having a taste. But the other two are a big part of my spring/summer free time, so it would be great to feel confident that I can do those.
I have read Expecting Better (that’s where I learned about the gardening), but it has been a few years since that book came out. If there’s more up to date or more specific info out there, I hope you kind Mefites can interpret it for me!
First things first: I know I’ll have to decide for myself how much risk I’m willing to carry, and that the only 100% safe path may be to avoid these projects altogether. I’m hoping to gain more of an understanding of what the scientific and medical literature says about this before I take that step.
Gardening: I want to expand my vegetable garden with another raised bed and a bunch of containers. I am worried about toxoplasmosis. We have a suburban fenced-in backyard, but get squirrels, birds, the occasional fox or stray cat. Will wearing gloves (any particular kind?) and frequent hand washing be enough?
Canning/preserving: Relatedly, I want to preserve a lot of the food that I grow. I took a 2-day canning course with my local state extension, so I feel confident that I’m doing the right techniques. I use tested recipes from the Ball book, or extension websites. I guess here I’m worried about botulism and other food-borne illnesses. Would it be safer to stick to high-acid (i.e. water bath) canning and skip pressure canning? How about fermentation (I want to make sauerkraut)?
Homebrewing: I want to try out brewing some beer and cider. Obviously there’s the alcohol factor, but is there any other reason I shouldn’t do this? Like, is it possible to get sick from making errors or not properly santizing your equipment, or does that just make for terrible tasting beer?
The homebrewing project is the one I’d be most happy to wait on, since it will probably be more satisfying to be able to get drunk on my results instead of just having a taste. But the other two are a big part of my spring/summer free time, so it would be great to feel confident that I can do those.
I have read Expecting Better (that’s where I learned about the gardening), but it has been a few years since that book came out. If there’s more up to date or more specific info out there, I hope you kind Mefites can interpret it for me!
With regards to brewing - brewing is fairly difficult to do wrong and when it does go wrong there are three ways to spot it: sight (is something growing here that shouldn't be), smell (does it smell off), taste (does is taste bad). When beer is bad, it will have one of these three cues are they're not subtle. I am not as scrupulous as some in sanitation (I'm pragmatic) and in 15 years of brewing, I've had 2 batches go bad and they were both obviously bad.
posted by plinth at 6:37 AM on January 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by plinth at 6:37 AM on January 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
Remember that toxoplasmosis is only a concern if you've never had it before and are infected for the first time while pregnant. Your doctor can test for the antibodies; if you've had it, then you shouldn't need to worry about it.
posted by gideonfrog at 6:50 AM on January 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by gideonfrog at 6:50 AM on January 16, 2018 [5 favorites]
Best answer: Gardening: I would worry more about the physical aspects of gardening while 8 months pregnant. If you are feeling fine and mobile, then I wouldn't worry at all. Wear the gloves for your peace of mind, but provided you are washing your hands before eating then you should be fine.
Canning: If you wanted to be super cautious, then stick to high acid canning, but as long as you are following the instructions, canning is a well worked out science. It isn't like you follow the instructions and there is a 1% chance of something going wrong. It is much more like you follow the instructions and there is a 0.00001% chance of it going wrong. Also with fermented storage methods it will make its own acid, hence why people used to make those.
Brewing: No known human pathogens can live in beer. (well not quite true, but the process of making a beer essentially means that you're not going to be brewing up any pathogenic soups without literally pooping in your fermenter as you fill it.) Also with making cider, apples are acidic and one of the easiest ways to make cider is to press the apples to get juice and then just put an airlock on it and let the wild yeasts work. That is it and it works fine. One of the worst things that can happen is that you end up with apple/malt vinegar instead of cider/beer. Drinking it still wouldn't hurt you and you wouldn't be drinking more than a mouthful anyways without noticing. Obviously there are issues with alcohol and pregnancy, but you've already highlighted those already.
posted by koolkat at 7:14 AM on January 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
Canning: If you wanted to be super cautious, then stick to high acid canning, but as long as you are following the instructions, canning is a well worked out science. It isn't like you follow the instructions and there is a 1% chance of something going wrong. It is much more like you follow the instructions and there is a 0.00001% chance of it going wrong. Also with fermented storage methods it will make its own acid, hence why people used to make those.
Brewing: No known human pathogens can live in beer. (well not quite true, but the process of making a beer essentially means that you're not going to be brewing up any pathogenic soups without literally pooping in your fermenter as you fill it.) Also with making cider, apples are acidic and one of the easiest ways to make cider is to press the apples to get juice and then just put an airlock on it and let the wild yeasts work. That is it and it works fine. One of the worst things that can happen is that you end up with apple/malt vinegar instead of cider/beer. Drinking it still wouldn't hurt you and you wouldn't be drinking more than a mouthful anyways without noticing. Obviously there are issues with alcohol and pregnancy, but you've already highlighted those already.
posted by koolkat at 7:14 AM on January 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
Best answer: These are three very safe and reasonable hobbies.
You are right to be (mildly) concerned about about toxoplasmosis from soil—but wearing gloves in the garden and washing your hands and produce are considered good protection against infection.
Home canning, either high-acid in a water bath or low-acid in a pressure canner, is one of the safest things you can do as long as you use recipes from extension services or from reputable canning suppliers like Ball’s or Pomona’s Pectin. There were an average of 20 botulism cases a year reported in the second half of the 20th century in the USA, and there are a lot of people still (ill-advisedly) using improvised or family recipes. (There are some questionable canning books out there too.) The extension and manufacturer recipes are extremely, extremely conservative. Follow them and you will not be one of the 20.
By the way, make sure you remove the screw-on rings for storage after your jars have cooled. That makes sure you will notice if a jar ever unseals—otherwise it could possibly unseal and then reseal with temperature changes in your pantry.
It’s pretty much impossible to make something dangerous with standard brewing techniques. If it’s bad for you, it will look, smell, or taste too disgusting to drink. This is unlike normal food safety, where pathogens can be tasteless, odorless, and invisible. Brewing goes either right or wrong. I don’t have a good citation for this other than thousands of years of trouble-free brewing, but any homebrewing book you trust will probably talk about this. Honestly, the only safety concern is making sure you have sturdy equipment and good techniques for handling large volumes of hot liquid.
It’s normal to be more worried about risks when planning a pregnancy, and even more so when you are pregnant or raising a child. Our minds like to fixate on the exotic risks, when statistically we mostly need to look after things like vaccinations, defensive and distraction-free driving, and proper car seat installation. Knowing that doesn’t keep our minds from worrying, but it at least helps at a cerebral level.
posted by musicinmybrain at 7:19 AM on January 16, 2018 [8 favorites]
You are right to be (mildly) concerned about about toxoplasmosis from soil—but wearing gloves in the garden and washing your hands and produce are considered good protection against infection.
Home canning, either high-acid in a water bath or low-acid in a pressure canner, is one of the safest things you can do as long as you use recipes from extension services or from reputable canning suppliers like Ball’s or Pomona’s Pectin. There were an average of 20 botulism cases a year reported in the second half of the 20th century in the USA, and there are a lot of people still (ill-advisedly) using improvised or family recipes. (There are some questionable canning books out there too.) The extension and manufacturer recipes are extremely, extremely conservative. Follow them and you will not be one of the 20.
By the way, make sure you remove the screw-on rings for storage after your jars have cooled. That makes sure you will notice if a jar ever unseals—otherwise it could possibly unseal and then reseal with temperature changes in your pantry.
It’s pretty much impossible to make something dangerous with standard brewing techniques. If it’s bad for you, it will look, smell, or taste too disgusting to drink. This is unlike normal food safety, where pathogens can be tasteless, odorless, and invisible. Brewing goes either right or wrong. I don’t have a good citation for this other than thousands of years of trouble-free brewing, but any homebrewing book you trust will probably talk about this. Honestly, the only safety concern is making sure you have sturdy equipment and good techniques for handling large volumes of hot liquid.
It’s normal to be more worried about risks when planning a pregnancy, and even more so when you are pregnant or raising a child. Our minds like to fixate on the exotic risks, when statistically we mostly need to look after things like vaccinations, defensive and distraction-free driving, and proper car seat installation. Knowing that doesn’t keep our minds from worrying, but it at least helps at a cerebral level.
posted by musicinmybrain at 7:19 AM on January 16, 2018 [8 favorites]
One thing you cannot predict is whether your sense of smell will change while pregnant. It does for some women and not for others. So be sure you get another non-pregnant person to smell stuff with you.
posted by mareli at 9:20 AM on January 16, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by mareli at 9:20 AM on January 16, 2018 [3 favorites]
When it comes to pressure canned foods, you should boil them before eating. Botulism Fact Sheet
posted by Bistyfrass at 9:50 AM on January 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Bistyfrass at 9:50 AM on January 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
For gardening, I think gloves + handwashing should be fine, but also maybe ask your doctor to test you for antibodies? If you've already had it, your baby would be at no risk.
With canning, I'm not aware that the dangers of canning are *greater* during pregnancy than at other times -- so if you're willing to take the risk for your own health when non-pregnant, I don't think there's a special risk to a fetus. Also, I feel like the list of foods my doctor gave me to avoid during pregnancy was seriously miles long, and "home-preserved jam" etc. was not on it, which leads me to believe it's not considered a problem. Seriously, they are intensely risk averse in what they tell you not to eat, and I ended up having to make my own judgement calls to avoid going to totally crazy from the restrictions.
No idea on brewing, sorry!
Also, as a general thing I would say don't put your hobbies on hold because you *might* get pregnant. It took us longer than we thought it would to get pregnant, and I'm really glad that I didn't put anything on hold that I wanted to do/accomplish/schedule/etc. And there are plenty of couples for whom it takes even longer. Like, probably don't book a trip to a Zika country, but otherwise I think you have to live your life. If/when you become pregnant, there is plenty of time to reassess all of these things -- for example, if your first trimester is anything like mine, you'll be lucky to get off the couch on the weekend, much less do gardening or pressure can anything! (And I can't imagine so much as wanting to smell beer during that period, much less have a little taste.) Then again, everyone has different experiences and it's impossible to predict how you will feel! So, go do the things you love and if you have to reevaluate from either a risk perspective or just based on your energy levels or what types of foods you can stand to be around, that is okay. I hope you get pregnant quickly and easily, but if not, then at least you're not feeling doubly bad for missing out on a year's worth of homegrown tomatoes and raspberry jam.
posted by rainbowbrite at 11:51 AM on January 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
With canning, I'm not aware that the dangers of canning are *greater* during pregnancy than at other times -- so if you're willing to take the risk for your own health when non-pregnant, I don't think there's a special risk to a fetus. Also, I feel like the list of foods my doctor gave me to avoid during pregnancy was seriously miles long, and "home-preserved jam" etc. was not on it, which leads me to believe it's not considered a problem. Seriously, they are intensely risk averse in what they tell you not to eat, and I ended up having to make my own judgement calls to avoid going to totally crazy from the restrictions.
No idea on brewing, sorry!
Also, as a general thing I would say don't put your hobbies on hold because you *might* get pregnant. It took us longer than we thought it would to get pregnant, and I'm really glad that I didn't put anything on hold that I wanted to do/accomplish/schedule/etc. And there are plenty of couples for whom it takes even longer. Like, probably don't book a trip to a Zika country, but otherwise I think you have to live your life. If/when you become pregnant, there is plenty of time to reassess all of these things -- for example, if your first trimester is anything like mine, you'll be lucky to get off the couch on the weekend, much less do gardening or pressure can anything! (And I can't imagine so much as wanting to smell beer during that period, much less have a little taste.) Then again, everyone has different experiences and it's impossible to predict how you will feel! So, go do the things you love and if you have to reevaluate from either a risk perspective or just based on your energy levels or what types of foods you can stand to be around, that is okay. I hope you get pregnant quickly and easily, but if not, then at least you're not feeling doubly bad for missing out on a year's worth of homegrown tomatoes and raspberry jam.
posted by rainbowbrite at 11:51 AM on January 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
« Older Worth it? Housing discrimination complaints w/HUD | Uninterruptable Power Supplies, Interrupted Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
That's what the CDC suggests. You might also consider covering the garden with chicken wire or similar to help prevent animals from using it as a bathroom.
posted by schroedingersgirl at 6:30 AM on January 16, 2018 [5 favorites]