New Mom Ecstatic to Eat Salami Sandwich for the First Time in 9 Months

Being pregnant is a wild ride, with nine months of struggling to sleep, needing the toilet all the time and being unable to pick up things from the floor.

There are also a lot of dos and don'ts when it comes to food and drink. As well as the obvious—alcohol—pregnant women are advised to avoid certain meats, dairy, fish and some egg products.

For one new mom, it seems giving up deli meats was a particular struggle, as a hilarious TikTok clip captures her joy at finally getting to eat a salami sandwich.

Alexandria posted the video to her TikTok account, @ali_hardwick, after she was filmed taking the first bite of her sandwich, her newborn baby resting on her lap.

The packaging suggests she's tucking into a sub from Jimmy John's, which has branches in 43 U.S. states.

Alexandria, whose profile explains that they're a "family of 5, soon to be 6," wrote in the on-screen caption: "After nine long months, I was finally able to eat my salami sandwich.

"And the tears of joy poured."

She is visibly elated as she savours the meat in her hospital bed, with the footage set to the apt song (I've Had) The Time of My Life—of Dirty Dancing fame. The video, which can be seen here, is accompanied by the hashtags #salami #firstmeal #tearsofjoy.

The clip, shared at the end of last month, has amassed more than 12 million views, as well as thousands of comments from fellow moms sharing in Alexandria's joy.

"The amount of charcuterie I ate after I had that baby would kill an Italian," SinatraInMyLap wrote.

Tara Clontz posted: "After both babies, all I wanted was cold cuts."

Chanice Jacqueline commented: "I told my husband that after the baby is born I want him standing there with a cold cut sub and sushi. C'mon January!"

"I felt this spiritually," Sarah H wrote. Katelyn Brown added: "I've never been happier for another person."

Alexandria later confirmed that she had ordered a "vito with hot peppers and a pickle on the side! So good." According to the Jimmy John's website, the vito is made with salami, capicola and provolone cheese.

According to the website American Pregnancy, moms-to-be are advised not to eat deli meats—also known as sandwich meat, lunch meat, cold cuts or sliced meats—because of the risk of contamination with listeria bacteria.

Production of deli meats is regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. On Wednesday, a Michigan meat producer, Alexander & Hornung, announced that it was recalling 2.3 million pounds of pork products over contamination fears, after it notified the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service that product sampling had found Listeria monocytogenes.

Listeria is rare. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it is recorded in around 1,600 people in the United States every year.

However, American Pregnancy explains, "the problem for pregnant women is they are more susceptible to get it and their developing babies are more vulnerable to serious complications and even death."

Newsweek has reached out to Alexandria for comment.