# Raw milk and kefir in (human) pregnancy



## tatumhills (Feb 8, 2014)

I am finally pregnant with my second baby. I credit my goat and the lovely raw milk she gives us for getting me here but now... Do I keep drinking the raw milk? And I was just given some kefir grains. Can I have that? I realise this is not a medical group and ultimately the choice (and responsibility) will be mine but I would like to hear what others have done during their pregnancy. And why. Thanks!


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

Have you talked to your doctor or midwife? I would start there to find out what their concerns might be. I know sometimes its not what we think its going to be but something different. 

I had a friend who was pregnant and they told her not to eat sushi (she was a pescatarian) and when she talked to her doctor it was primarily a bacteria issue. She was living on a sail boat and catching her fish fresh and eating it right away before it had a chance to have any bacteria really grow so she continued to eat sushi.

So if the raw milk issue is a bacterial one you might consider more than a "do or don't" situation but a "how". Maybe drinking only fresh milk from that day as an option. My concern with kefir would be bacterial, fresh milk I'd personally not have any concerns if I collected it myself from my goats. If your goats have orf or soremouth I would not use that milk raw.


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

Oh and congrats on the pregnancy!!!


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## tatumhills (Feb 8, 2014)

Thank you. I'll try talking to my doc but I fear they'll just say know because they don't know better. I live in Australia where institutions are sadly very against raw milk with a lady being prosecuted just the other day in my area for running a herd share. My goat is gel they but again I tried to investigate testing her milk and nobody does it on a small scale


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## jmez61690 (Jun 16, 2015)

Congratulations!! How exciting!!


I did my best to have everything as natural as possible with both of my pregnancies, and delivered them at home with my midwife. She encouraged kefir throughout both of my pregnancies and said it was the healthiest thing I could have!! At the time though, raw milk wasn't an option so I never asked her about it. In my opinion I'd probably be more cautious as far as sterilizing everything and being diligent with safe milk handling practices, but I'd still drink it raw. I'd just also try to only drink it within 24 hours or so.

I ate sushi, deli meat, soft cheeses, shellfish....all of the pregnancy no-nos. To me, I considered the risk to be miniscule when you consider most of us don't think twice about getting into a car to drive to the grocery store....which sure is a greater risk than a turkey sandwich.


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

I think the kefir is great!!! Super healthy for the both of you. Now you may choose to pasteurize your milk before adding the kefir grains... I'm not sure what I'd do (probably keep drinking raw). My son and DIL just got pregnant so she is no longer drinking raw milk here..that's ok. It's just a choice you have to make. Congrats!


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## Hollowdweller (May 5, 2011)

I would say it depends.

The health benefits of goat milk are known.

The hazards of drinking raw milk are there but what are the odds?

The things I would worry about the most drinking raw milk would be Q Fever, Toxoplasmosis, and Listeria because they can cause abortions. I'm not sure the prevalence of any in Australia.

I've had goats nearly 30 years and I never had a case of listeria till this year. It was a kid though not near the milkers.

So it really is a personal decision far as how much you feel the benefit of raw milk is vs the risk. I personally would probably err on the safe side.

By the way Kefir grains will make good kefir with pasteurized milk, although you would still have the chance of disease from the grains themselves. However www.getculture.com makes a nice powdered kefir culture you could use that would likely be free of other germs.


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## tatumhills (Feb 8, 2014)

Thanks everyone. I'm seeing my doctor tomorrow and I will see what he says. Meanwhile I have drank a little raw milk fresh from the goat but not the kefir...


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## nicolemackenzie (Dec 27, 2014)

Your dr will say no. No unpasteurized milk, soft unpasteurized cheeses, etc.

There are risks. Listeriosis and brucellosis etc.

It's up to you though.


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## nannysrus (Jun 21, 2014)

I lived on goats milk my third pregnancy because of my gallbladder. I couldn't eat hardly anything without being in the hospital over a gallbladder attack. For about five months I literally survived off goats milk because it wad the only thing I could hold down and it didn't irritate my gallbladder. The goat providing the milk though was tested for multiple zoological diseases and bacterias just to be safe.


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## tatumhills (Feb 8, 2014)

Thank you, I think I'll give the kefir a miss until baby comes then drink it while breastfeeding. As for the milk I will talk to the vet about having my goat tested and we'll see  thanks to all


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## lilaalil (Sep 5, 2014)

How and where do you get theses tests done? And did you still use the milk raw, or pasteurize it? And say the got comes up clean, do you keep testing every few months, or just the one time? Is there much risk of anything dangerously nasty coming from the outside of the teats, or just bacteria and diseases that the goat itself is carrying? Sorry for the 20 questions.... I'd like to get pregnant again sometime in the near future, and totally forgot you're not "supposed" to use raw milk. I haven't been able to find much clear information about the real risks of raw milk from your own goats.



nannysrus said:


> I lived on goats milk my third pregnancy because of my gallbladder. I couldn't eat hardly anything without being in the hospital over a gallbladder attack. For about five months I literally survived off goats milk because it wad the only thing I could hold down and it didn't irritate my gallbladder. The goat providing the milk though was tested for multiple zoological diseases and bacterias just to be safe.


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## nannysrus (Jun 21, 2014)

I drank it raw. I dont like it pasteurized. I can PM you the name of the labs and the testing we had done.


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## lilaalil (Sep 5, 2014)

nannysrus said:


> I drank it raw. I dont like it pasteurized. I can PM you the name of the labs and the testing we had done.


 yes, please!


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## grindylo (May 15, 2014)

How are you doing with your kefir and goat milk? What did you decide to do?
As someone who makes kefir, I think that as long as you take proper care of the culture then you don't have to worry about it being contaminated. Make sure things are clean when you "feed" it and don't let it go too long between feedings. I've brought back an iffy culture that is now thriving after being neglected. Don't use it if it gets pink. Using a high proportion of grains to milk cultures the milk faster so then you don't have it sitting around for as long as otherwise. I think that inoculating raw milk with kefir might help to keep unwanted buggies from proliferating. It probably wouldn't ensure zero quantity but that's what I would do if I wasn't confident even after being super careful about milking. Then again, maybe someone out there has had a bad kefir experience and would counter differently.

Raw milk hazards with your own goats are the same as anywhere except that YOU are the one in control of the cleaning, milking, and handling. If you are very, very strict then I think you should be okay. Pasteurize if you don't want any doubts.


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