What Foods To Avoid During Pregnancy

 

 

These risks are usually small but doctors usually advise to minimise or cut out altogether foods that can contain harmful bacteria and parasites.

 

It is important to know what foods to avoid during pregnancy and to ensure you have a healthy well balanced diet while you are pregnant.

 

Raw eggs carry a risk of salmonella. The salmonella infection causes vomiting, nausea, fever, diarrhoea, and cramping. It will not usually affect your baby but in rare cases can cause miscarriage or stillbirth.

 

Foods that may contain raw eggs include, scrambled eggs, poached eggs, mayonnaise, hollandaise sauce, salad dressing, and cake icing.

 

If you do cook eggs always ensure that that they are well cooked or use pasteurised eggs as a safe alternative.

 

 

Raw fish and shellfish can carry parasites and bacterial infections. These include salmonella, norovirus, and listeria. Some of these infections can be passed on to your baby and cause serious problems.

 

Avoid eating any raw or smoked fish or shellfish as well as sushi.

 

Mercury is extremely toxic and can be found in polluted water. High levels of mercury can cause problems with child development, the nervous system, and the immune system.

 

It is not known what a safe level of exposure to mercury is so it’s important to avoid fish that could have been exposed to high levels.

 

Fish that may contain high levels of mercury include, tuna, mackerel, shark, and swordfish.

 

However, don’t avoid fish altogether as consuming fish with low mercury levels is very healthy and recommended during pregnancy.

 

 

Unpasteurised cheese, juice, and raw milk can contain a lot of harmful bacteria. Consuming these items can put you and your baby at risk of salmonella, E. coli, and listeria.

 

Listeria especially is a concern as pregnant women are much more susceptible to contracting it. It can be non symptomatic and still be passed to your baby through the placenta. It can have serious, and possible fatal consequences for your baby.

 

The infections carried by unpasteurised produced can all have serious consequences for your baby. To minimise this risk it is advisable to only consume pasteurised products and this process has killed bacteria that may be harmful to you.

 

Goats cheese, and soft cheeses like Brie and Camembert should be avoided during pregnancy.  Blue cheeses like Gorgonzola, and Danish Blue are also unsafe to consume.

 

All of these cheeses are at high risk of being contaminated with listeria.

 

 

 

Ensure that you cook all meat thoroughly and be especially careful with minced meat.

 

If you eat undercooked or raw meat you are at risk of being exposed to listeria, salmonella, or toxoplasma which can be harmful to you and your unborn baby.

 

It is also advisable to avoid cured meats like salami, chorizo, and Parma ham. It is best to eat only well cooked meat that shows no pink or blood during pregnancy.

 

 

 

It is advisable not to eat any kind of Pâté while you are pregnant including vegetable.

 

Vitamin A can be harmful to your unborn baby. Foods to avoid include liver, liver sausage, and any foods that have been fortified with vitamin A.

 

It is also advised that you don’t take supplements containing vitamin A like multivitamins, and cod liver oil.

 

Unwashed fruit and vegetables can be contaminated with infections like listeria, toxoplasma, and salmonella. The harmful bacteria is usually found in the soil on fresh produce.

 

This bacteria can harm both you and your baby. Some parasites like toxoplasma can cause development problems, or blindness in your child.

 

It is advisable to always thoroughly wash, peel and cook fruits and vegetables during pregnancy to minimise the risk of infection.

During pregnancy it is important to have a healthy diet with lots of nutrients. Processed junk food contains mostly empty calories and a whole lot of sugar.

 

I’m not saying it’s not okay to indulge now and again but eating a lot of junk food during pregnancy can have implications for you and your baby.

 

Processed foods with high sugar content can cause you to gain excessive weight, can increase the risk of gestational diabetes. They can also increase the chances of your child being overweight and the health risks this carries.

 

Caffeine is found in tea, coffee, and many soft drinks. Caffeine is easily absorbed into the placenta and high levels can quickly build up.

 

High caffeine levels during pregnancy can restrict the growth of your unborn baby giving a higher chance of low birth weight.

 

It is advised that pregnant women should only consume up to 200mg of caffeine per day. Many women choose to give caffeine up altogether.

 

Drinking alcohol while you are pregnant can increase the risk of miscarriage and stillbirth. Even drinking small amounts can impact the brain development of your baby.

 

Drinking large amounts of alcohol during pregnancy can cause fetal alcohol syndrome. The symptoms of this include heart defects, and facial deformities.

 

It is not known if any level of alcohol is safe to consume while you are pregnant. Doctors recommended avoiding it completely for the duration of your pregnancy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What Foods To Avoid During Pregnancy