There are certain foods that you should avoid when you're pregnant, because they might make you ill or harm your baby:Dairy products
Dairy products such as skim milk, mozzarella cheese and cottage cheese can be a healthy part of your diet. But anything containing unpasteurized milk is a no-no. These products may lead to food-borne illness.
Unless these soft cheeses are clearly labeled as being made with pasteurized milk, don't eat:
• Brie
• Feta
• Camembert
• Blue cheese
• Mexican-style cheeses, such as queso blanco, queso fresco, queso de hoja, queso de crema and queso asadero
Pâté
Avoid all types of pâté, including vegetable. This is because pate can contain listeria.
Raw or partially cooked eggs
Avoid eating raw eggs and food containing raw or partially-cooked eggs. This is to avoid the risk of salmonella, which causes a type of food poisoning.
Raw or undercooked meat
Make sure you only eat meat that has been well cooked. This is especially important with poultry and products made from minced meat, such as sausages and burgers. Make sure these are cooked until they are piping hot all the way through and no pink meat is left.
Always wash your hands after handling raw meat, and keep it separate from foods that are ready to eat. This is because raw meat contains bacteria that can cause food poisoning.
Liver products and supplements containing vitamin A
Make sure you don't have too much vitamin A. This means you should avoid eating liver and liver products such as pâté and avoid taking supplements containing vitamin A or fish liver oils (which contain high levels of vitamin A). You need some vitamin A, but having too much means that levels could build up and may harm your unborn baby.
Some types of fish
You can eat most types of fish when you're pregnant. But there are a few types you should avoid and some others where you should limit the amount you eat.
Avoid eating any shark, swordfish and marlin. Limit the amount of tuna you eat to no more than two tuna steaks a week (weighing about 140g cooked or 170g raw) or four medium-size cans of tuna a week (with a drained weight of about 140g per can). This is because of the levels of mercury in these fish. At high levels, mercury can harm a baby's developing nervous system.
Have no more than two portions of oily fish a week. Oily fish includes fresh tuna (not canned tuna, which does not count as oily fish), mackerel, sardines and trout.
But remember that eating fish is good for your health and the development of your baby, so you should still aim to eat at least two portions of fish a week, including one portion of oily fish.
Undercooked ready meals
Avoid eating ready meals that are undercooked. Make sure you heat them until they are piping hot all the way through.
Herbal tea
Although herbal tea may be soothing, avoid it unless your health care provider says it's OK — even the types of herbal tea marketed specifically to pregnant women. There's little data on the effects of specific herbs on developing babies. And large amounts of some herbal teas, such as red raspberry leaf, may cause contractions.
Alcohol and caffeine
When you’re pregnant, it’s best to stop drinking alcohol altogether.
You should limit the amount of caffeine you have each day, but you don't need to cut it out completely. Caffeine occurs naturally in a range of foods, such as coffee, tea and chocolate, and it's also added to some soft drinks and 'energy' drinks.
It's important not to have more than 300mg a day. This is because high levels of caffeine can result in babies having a low birth weight, or even miscarriage.
Each of these contains roughly 300mg of caffeine:
• 3 mugs of instant coffee (100mg each)
• 4 cups of instant coffee (75mg each)
• 3 cups of brewed coffee (100mg each)
• 6 cups of tea (50mg each)
• 8 cans of cola (up to 40mg each)
• 4 cans of 'energy' drink (up to 80mg each)
• 8 (50g) bars of plain chocolate (up to 50mg each). Caffeine in milk chocolate is about half that of plain chocolate
So if you eat a bar of plain chocolate and drink 3 cups of tea, a can of cola and a cup of instant coffee in a day, you'll have reached your 300mg limit.
Remember that caffeine is also found in certain cold and flu remedies.
Should I avoid peanuts?
Your baby may be at higher risk of developing a nut allergy if you, the baby's father, brothers or sisters have certain allergic conditions such as hay fever, asthma and/or eczema.
If your baby is in this higher-risk group, you may wish to avoid eating peanuts and peanut products when you're pregnant and breastfeeding.
Gardening and changing cat litter
Always wear gloves when you're gardening or changing cat litter, and wash your hands afterwards. This is to avoid toxoplasmosis, an infection caused by a parasite found in meat, cat faeces and soil. The infection can be harmful to unborn babies.
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