During your pregnancy it is important that you are aware of the foods and other items you should try and avoid as much as possible, if not out right.
Foods To Avoid During Your Pregnancy
- Raw eggs and other foods which may contain raw egg, simply because raw eggs may be contaminated with salmonella. Some examples are:
- Caesar dressing
- Mayonnaise
- Homemade ice cream or custard
- Un pasteurized eggnog
- Hollandaise sauce
- Soft cheese, such as blue cheese, feta, Brie, Camembert, and Latin-American soft white cheeses such as queso blanco and queso fresco and this is simply because they may contain harmful bacteria, such as listeria monocytogenes, commonly known as Listeria, which is a type of bacteria found in some types of cheese.
- Raw or undercooked meat & deli meats. According to FDA Consumer, toxoplasmosis is acquired by eating raw or undercooked meat contaminated with the parasite, or by exposure to contaminated cat feces. Toxoplasmosis can also be transmitted to a fetus through the placenta, but the fetus is presumed to be at risk only if the mother has a primary, active infection during the pregnancy. You may want to be a little wary of items which you may find behind at your deli counter as well, especially those which may have come into contact with infected cheeses. Items such as undercooked poultry and hot dogs, or similar meats, that have not been thoroughly reheated.
- Any fish which may contain high levels of mercury in their fatty tissues such as shark, swordfish, king mackerel, and tilefish. When a pregnant woman eats a large amount of mercury, her baby may suffer brain damage which may also result in developmental delays, such as learning to walk or talk. Fish which may also contain high levels of an industrial pollutant called polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in their fatty tissues such as bluefish and striped bass, and freshwater fish such as salmon, pike, trout, and walleye from contaminated lakes and rivers. Read our article on eating fish during pregnancy.
What to Avoid During Pregnancy
