Spicy Food & Pregnancy: Safe? (Anecdote and recipe)
This article was written back in the beginning of February 2020 - First trimester; week 10.
I've always liked a little spicy and exotic meal once in a while, with a Sri Lankan husband I had the chance to discover the very tasty Sri Lankan traditional cuisine, but now that I'm pregnant and don't know much about it yet, what is safe or not safe, I keep making research, text my doctor, and learn more daily; I had a bit of a scare which I thought maybe someone else could relate to, so here's the story.
Prior to last Christmas, Faz (my husband), traveled to his homeland for a few days to visit his family. During that week he sent me pictures of all the delicious meals his mom and grandma were cooking for him. All of these recipes seemed delicious, I gathered a few new family recipes sent over from my lovely mother-in-law, but one in particular had retained my attention: the Sri Lankan "Pumpkin Curry". It seemed so creamy, and sweet, with the perfect amount of spice; the ultimate exotic dish.
Yesterday, going through my pictures making some space in my phone, I found this picture and we decided to make it. My husband being the best I could ever have hoped for (lucky me!), started cooking while baby and I were relaxing in a warm bath. Once out, I was extremely excited about trying out this delicious food (especially made by him, he's the most amazing cook I know - I wonder how he does it as I feel like he's just mixing everything he sees in the fridge add so much spice and steam things haha... but the result proves me wrong every time, I guess cooking with love is the real key.
Sitting at the table, he started telling me that it may be a bit too spicy as he didn't know how spicy are the chilis we can find in French grocery stores (very different than his home country or the Middle East). And my very first reaction was deception. I have been craving this dish for a month, and for some reason, I had this misconception: “eating spicy food might hurt baby”. I instantly thought of asking my sister who went through two pregnancies in the past 2 and a half years, and made my own research while waiting for her advice.
Verdict: if you suffer from heartburn, it might be wise to avoid the spicy fare, but otherwise it is completely safe!
"Spicy food might harm baby", "spicy food might cause contractions", or "trigger labor" are nothing more than old tales!
As baby's taste buds developed around week 14, he or she will be able to start tasting the food you eat through the amniotic fluid he/she swallows. Eating spicy food will only widen her/his palate, so no worries.
And to finish the story, my husband's dish was amazing and, as soon as we remake it because we haven’t taken pictures, I’ll put the recipe for you to try too. Pregnant or not, you'll crave this dish again very soon!