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What Foods To Avoid During Pregnancy

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.

Other Things You Will Want To Avoid During Your Pregnancy

Cigarette Smoke
Cigarette smoke, either firsthand or secondhand while have an adverse effect on your baby, so try and keep well away from it.This isn't a conspiracy against smokers. There are countless medical studies which have reported on the dangers of cigarette smoke. Common complications as a result may include:

Miscarriage
Ectopic pregnancy
Stillbirth
Your baby's brain may not be developed properly
Low-birthweight baby

Alcohol
If you drink alcohol during your pregnancy, then it can harm your baby, and cause many growth problems, and your baby may develop physical and behavioral problems that can last for the rest of his or her life. Children born with the most serious problems caused by alcohol have fetal alcohol syndrome.

Medications, Drugs and Herbs
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, if a pregnant woman uses drugs, she and her unborn child will face serious health problems, such as:

HIV infection or AIDS
Low birth weight
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
A small head size
Stunted growth
Poor motor skills
Behavior problems

Several herbs and "everyday" medications are also of concern. Simple medications such as aspirin, and other drugs containing salicylate, are not recommended throughout pregnancy, especially during the third trimester, except under the supervision of a qualified medical professional.

Caffeine
Caffeine, which is the stimulant found in colas, coffee, tea, soft candies, chocolate, cocoa, and over-the-counter and prescription drugs, has been a controversial topic in pregnancy nutrition for more than a decade.In 1980 a study by the FDA found that caffeine, when fed to pregnant rats, caused birth defects and delayed skeletal development in their offspring. At that time, although the human implications were unknown, FDA advised pregnant women to eliminate caffeine from their diets.

This list is simply a starting point, outlining only a few well known causes of birth defects, infections, food poisoning and other health issues of particular concern to the pregnant women. Things that women should avoid during pregnancy. As new information comes to light all the time, this is not a complete list, nor should it serve as medical advice. As with all matters during pregnancy -- if you have any concerns about your health or the health of your baby, seek the advice of a qualified healthcare professional.