Honey During Pregnancy? Here’s All You Need to Know

You might have already devoured quite a few books about pregnancy and baby care now that you have realized you’re expecting a child, and you know for a fact now that honey consumption is harmful to your baby if it is under a year old.

However, you are the kind of woman who considers a day without honey as a day wasted. An amazing thought, for it has a wide range of benefits for the person who consumes it regularly! If you are worried that the baby resting in your womb will be adversely affected by your love for this substance, then don’t.

Read through the baby care books again if you want. Honey is harmful to your child only if it is consumed directly post-birth. You, on the other hand, can savour the sweet taste of that viscous liquid as much as you want during pregnancy.

It won’t affect the health of your baby in the slightest. However, don’t start consuming it just yet. Let’s first consider its harmful effects on your child, followed by other factors that may or may not affect their and, in turn, your well-being.

Side Effects on Infants

Post-birth, if you mistakenly give your baby anything laced with honey, then it may result in an illness called Botulism. It is a food poisoning disease that may have fatal consequences for your infant. Its occurrence is a rarity – only about a hundred cases of botulism are reported every year in the US. Plus, only about 25% of those are caused by its consumption. Nevertheless, its effects are quite dire.

Your infant will need instant medical attention as soon as Botulism is detected, for it can not only result in rapid death but also spread easily to other infants in the vicinity. It is a fatal illness that is often ignored by or unknown to mothers because the beneficial effects of honey are quite substantial. Therefore, be sure to ignore it no more. Don’t serve honey-related products to infants.

Can a Pregnant Woman Transfer Honey to Her Womb?

Since all of the unborn baby’s nutrition comes from what the mother consumes, this is a pretty obvious question. However, the answer is not that obvious. Baby food analysts and specialists at HoneyJoy claim that Botulism is deadly only for infants. Their immune system is not fully developed. When you, the expecting mother, eat honey or any related products, it is highly unlikely that its substrates will reach your womb.

In the highly unlikely scenario that you are infected with Botulism instead, your immune system is acceptably advanced to fight off the bacteria before it enters your womb. Here’s an interesting stat that will alleviate your worries even more – no cases have been reported so far where expecting mothers have consumed it and have had any problems with the delivery and the resultant child. All the infants born from honey-loving mothers have so far been perfectly healthy!

Benefits for Expecting Mothers

Honey consumption is beneficial during pregnancy in more ways than one. It strengthens your immune system to a great degree, thus providing better protection for your unborn baby. The natural antioxidants and antibiotics that it contains can help your body battle the various possible infections that you may be affected by. It is common knowledge that almost any kind of tea laced with honey eases sore throats, so that’s an additional side benefit right there.

Furthermore, it has been scientifically proven that the substance makes the human body immune to several kinds of commonly occurring viruses. To add to the benefits, stomach ulcers are reduced at a faster rate with honey, and it is an effective cure for insomnia. Thus, if you consume it during pregnancy, then you will be providing a solid cover of immunity from a number of diseases to your growing womb.

However, there is a limit to the amount that an expecting mother can consume. Just like with any kind of food, excessive consumption of it can result in problems like obesity and food poisoning, and having too little can cause internal deficiency issues. The key is to consume it in moderation. According to calorie count, limit your consumption to about 200 calories per day. So that amounts to no more than 5 tablespoons of honey.

You can have both pure and processed honey, depending on your preference. However, be sure to get the pure form directly from a bee farm for authenticity, and the processed kind should only be purchased from a reputable brand. The amount and quality of adulteration in most of the popular processed brands are usually safe for pregnant women. Be careful while selecting and consuming honey, but don’t be too scrupulous in doing so.