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Foods You Need To Avoid While Pregnant

When you're pregnant, it's important to avoid certain foods that pose a risk to your baby. These foods either contain bacteria that is harmful to your baby, or pollutants that could negatively affect your baby. Four of the more common risks include listeria, salmonella, methyl mercury and E. Coli.

Listeria - Avoid Unpasturized products

Avoid anything that is unpasturized because there is a danger of it containing listeria (a germ that can lead to still birth, miscarriage or illness in a newborn baby.) Things like:

Unpasturized milk and juice
Soft Cheeses
Pate

Salmonella - Avoid Raw Eggs

Avoid raw eggs, and anything that contains raw eggs to lessen your risk of salmonella poisoning. Things like:

Home made mayonnaise
Caesar dressing
Egg Nog
Mousse
Tiramisu
Hollandaise sauce
Cookie Batter
Homemade ice cream
Meat that is not fully cooked

E. Coli. - Avoid Uncooked Meats

Avoid any kind of rare or undercooked meat/fish. Things like:

Sushi
Raw shellfish is especially bad - make sure it's cook thoroughly
Raw fish
Deli meats
Undercooked chicken or meat
Make sure that when you're cooking any kind of meat, you cook it all the way through.

Methyl Mercury - Avoid Certain Types of Fish

Eating fish during pregnancy is a great idea. There have been studies done that show that woman who eat fish during pregnancy have longer pregnancies and have babies with higher birth weights. Including fish in your diet is a great idea, and many fish are safe to eat while pregnant. However, there are certain types of fish that should be avoided because they're known to be contaminated with higher levels of methyl mercury. The following fish should not be eaten more than once per month:

Shark
Swordfish
Tuna (fresh or frozen)
Canned Tuna should be limited to one 6 ounce can a week

Avoid the following types of fish completely:

All raw fish
All raw shellfish
Blue fish
Lake trout
Amberjack
Barracuda
Grouper
Mahi Mahi
Snapper

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