There are morons dispensing advice at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Kids. I have no idea why they get paid to tell pregnant women, “it is no longer necessary for pregnant women to avoid foods like deli meats and soft cheeses soft-cooked eggs or sushi and sashimi.”

I have no idea how this advice got approved and published. How is it that the authors, Carolyn Tam, a graduate student in clinical pharmacology at the University of Toronto, Aida Erebara MD, and Adrienne Einarson RN, assistant director of the Motherisk Program could come up with such terrible food safety advice from the 25-year-old Motherisk program which is designed “to ensure the well-being of mothers and babies, worldwide.”

And they want donations.

Jane Calvert, a formerly pregnant journalist in Melbourne, Australia, who recently gave birth to a healthy daughter, is much more incisive and intelligent than the tax-supported staff at Toronto’s Sick Kid’s.

Calvert asks in The Age today, at what point did fine dining become more tolerant of gluten intolerants than it did of pregnant women? Go to any decent digs and you’re sure to see dishes containing substances that affect celiacs clearly marked. But asking what meals could potentially kill your unborn child seems a much greater imposition.

She suggests a Three Point Pregnancy Policy

1. Label your pregnancy-safe dishes. Remember there are almost three months during which pregnant women may not be able to ask questions, for fear of revealing their status.

2. Ensure your staff are educated, ready and able to answer questions about potential risks and can do it in a way that’s not condescending.

3. Provide a menu with choice. Try to make sure there are at least three safe pregnancy options that don’t involve having to murder a meat dish that really should be served rare.

All good points. The folks at Toronto Sick Kid’s hospital should either provide references for their recommendations or retract the article. Or just go away. It’s embarrassing.