I am 34 weeks pregnant and feel so sorry for this woman's loss. The problem is that this freak outbreak is going to cause pregnant woman to worry. I'm not supposed to eat deli meat during pregnancy because of a 0.001% chance it could have listeria on it. Where do we draw the line? I still eat deli meat once every few weeks. What are the doctors going to put on the "banned food list" for pregnant women now? Canteloupe? All produce?

We need to draw the line somewhere- you can get sick at any time from any type of food, but the chances of miscarriage or damage to the fetus from eating tainted food is so incredibly low. I bet being in a car everyday is more unsafe to the fetus (i.e. potential for car accidents) than any food-borne illness.

Leslie, very true, very rational....well thought! Any public health "threat" is blown out of proportion for the sake of ratings. Don't forget the news is also big business, they care only about ratings (not accuracy), scare the people so they tune in at 6pm, then rake in advertising dollars.....

I am nearly 32 weeks along and I agree with Leslie. I've eaten deli meat, soft cheese, and canteloupe and so far everything's fine. I know it just takes one tainted serving to make one sick, but there has to be a line somewhere. I've even had coffee, sashimi, and tuna. Early in my pregnancy before I knew I was pregnant, I had a margarita at one office party and a glass of wine at another a few weeks later. Maybe I'm careless but I don't lose sleep over it at all.

As far as the canteloupe is concerned, my supermarket has a prominent sign next to the whole canteloupes stating that they are from California, not Colorado. I live in a state that has been part of the "outbreak", so I just buy the whole canteloupe, wash it, and eat it like normal. I do stay away from the precut ones or fruit medleys in restaurants.