Question:
Food to stay away from during pregnancy.?
Vishal R
2007-11-15 03:01:18 UTC
I've heard a lot of things on food to stay away from. Can you help me clarify if a pregnant woman should stay away from these. Please prove a reliable source for you answers.
Thanks
- Canned tuna
- Cheese (because of bacteria)
- Coffee/tea
- Chocolate

Any source for other foods she should eat/not eat would be great!
Eight answers:
Prettyinpink
2007-11-15 04:57:19 UTC
Hi,

I HAVE INCLUDED A SITE FROM NHS HOSPITAL, AT LEAST YOU KNOW THIS IS THE ADVISE FROM EXPERTS!



OH AND BY THE WAY BY DECAF COFFEE AND TEA, I DRINK ALOT, IT TASTES THE SAME, BUT NO CAFFEINE!







However, there are certain foods you shouldnt eat whilst pregnant to avoid exposing yourself to the risk of food poisoning, or because they can be potentially dangerous to your unborn baby.



Listeria



Listeriosis is a rare, flu-like illness, which can be contracted from food that contains listeria bacteria. Although rare in the UK, listeriosis can cause stillbirth, miscarriage, or severe illness in newborn babies.



You should avoid foods where high levels of listeria are occasionally found:



soft and blue-veined cheese, such as Camembert, Brie and Stilton. (There is no risk of listeria associated with hard cheese such as Cheddar, cottage cheese or processed cheese),pâté (any type, including vegetable),certain prepared salads such as potato salad and coleslaw, andready-prepared meals or re-heated food, unless they are piping hot all the way through.Salmonella



Salmonella is a bacteria that causes a type of food poisoning. Salmonella is found in unpasteurised milk, raw eggs and raw egg products, raw poultry and raw meat. Although salmonella food poisoning is unlikely to harm your baby, it is advisable to take precautions to avoid foods that may contain salmonella.



The following steps will reduce your risk of getting salmonella:



Avoid food containing raw or partially cooked eggs, such as homemade mayonnaise, and some mousses and sauces. You should only eat eggs if they are cooked until both the white and the yolk are solid.Avoid unpasteurised dairy products.Cook all meat and poultry thoroughly, and take particular care with 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.Take particular care with meat at barbeques, parties and buffets. Bacteria breed quickly on food that is left uncovered in a warm environment.Make sure that raw meat does not come into contact with other food (for example in the fridge), particularly food that is already cooked or that will be eaten raw.Always wash your hands after handling raw meat.You should also avoid raw shellfish when youre pregnant. This is because raw shellfish can sometimes contain harmful bacteria and viruses that could cause food poisoning. Food poisoning can be particularly unpleasant when youre pregnant.



Toxoplasmosis



Toxoplasmosis is an infection caused by a parasite found in cat faeces. It can also be present in raw or undercooked meat, and in soil left on unwashed fruit and vegetables. Although rare, the infection can occasionally be passed to the unborn baby, which can cause serious problems.



To reduce the risk of toxoplasmosis, you should avoid the following foods:



unwashed raw fruit and vegetables,raw or undercooked meat, andunpasteurised goats milk or goats cheese.To avoid contact with soil or faeces that might contain the toxoplasmosis parasite, its important to wear gloves if you are gardening or changing a cat litter tray.



Vitamin A



If youre pregnant you should make sure you dont have too much vitamin A. Although you need some vitamin A in your diet, having too much could mean that levels build up in your body and harm your unborn baby.



Eating a normal, well-balanced diet should give you all the vitamin A your body needs. Avoid liver or liver products such as pâté, as liver contains high levels of vitamin A. You should also check with your doctor before taking any high-dose multivitamins or cod liver oil supplements, as these may also contain vitamin A.



Fish



Oily fish is good for your health but we need to limit the amount that we eat because it contains pollutants, such as dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). If you're pregnant, you should eat no more than two portions of oily fish a week. Oily fish includes fresh tuna (not canned tuna, which doesn't count as oily fish), mackerel, sardines and trout.



There are a few types of fish that you should avoid eating while pregnant, and some others that you should limit the amount you eat. Limit the amount of tuna you eat because it contains a high level of mercury which can have a damaging effect on your baby's developing nervous system. You shouldn't eat more than one tuna steak, or four medium-sized tins (about 140g per can) of tuna a week. This works out at about six rounds of tuna sandwiches or three tuna salads.



Avoid eating shark, swordfish and marlin as these fish also contain a high level of mercury. You should also avoid eating raw shellfish when you're pregnant. This will reduce your chances of getting food poisoning which can be particularly unpleasant when you're pregnant.



Alcohol



The Department of Health advises that pregnant women, and women who are trying to conceive, should avoid drinking alcohol. Heavy drinking, during pregnancy, is associated with low birth weight, and other, more serious birth defects. However, if you do decide to drink alcohol while you are pregnant, you should limit the amount that you drink. The Department of Health and The Royal College of Gynaecologists advise that pregnant women should not to drink more than 1-2 units of alcohol once or twice a week. Binge drinking (drinking several units of alcohol in one session) should be avoided.



Caffeine



You should limit the amount of caffeine you have each day. Caffeine affects the way your body absorbs iron, which is very important for your babys development. High levels of caffeine can result in a baby having a low birth weight, or even miscarriage.



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 of caffeine a day. 300mg is roughly equivalent to either:



3 mugs of instant coffee,3 cups of brewed coffee,six cups of tea,eight cans of regular cola, oreight standard bars of chocolate
sugar
2007-11-15 11:17:25 UTC
you can have all things but in mederation. stay away from uncooked or semicooked eggs (bacteria), fish that you are not sure where it is from like some of the overseas countries where proper procedures are not in place and the fish could be from contaminated waters (mercury concerns). you can have multivitamins with omega 3 if you don't want to have fish. they also tell you to not to eat soft cheese again for bacteria concerns.

Eat greens, lentils, vegies, fruits and nuts on a regular basis. And u must take folic acid supplement for the first 12 weeks while the baby's spine is being made.
lolcat <3
2007-11-15 11:14:47 UTC
im not sure about canned tuna (i ate it while pregnant). but you should stay away from the soft cheeses. pasteurised dairy products are ok to have as it gets rid of most of the bacteria! coffee n tea have caffeine in them. you can safely have 2 cups of coffee OR 4 cups of tea a day. if youre a coffee drinker, youll be better off drinking decaff coffee as its not got so much caffeine in. you should also stay away from home-made mayonnaise. its ok to eat the mayo you buy from a shop as they are pasteurised. cat litter is something else you should stay away from because of the bacteria. you could ask your midwife/doctor for a full list of foods and things to stay away from, and they would be the best help you could get.
Patti
2007-11-15 11:10:43 UTC
I can't provide any sources, but, yes, you should stay away from ... or limit yourself to ... any type of fish because of the Mercury content. Coffee/tea/soda has caffeine, which could affect the baby's health. I haven't heard of staying away from chocolate or cheese, but if your doctor has told you to, I would go with what he/she says. During the last three months, you could experience indigestion, so at that time, you might want to stay away from spicy foods and things made with tomatoes simply for your own comfort.
Cimba00
2007-11-15 11:09:15 UTC
WIC gives me free tuna when I'm breastfeeding, so I'd think it would be ok during pregnancy. In both cases it would be passed to the baby. The rest are OK also, just watch the amount of caffeine. Personally, in the first trimester, I don't intake very much caffeine at all. A great site that I use for info is babycenter.com.
2007-11-15 11:17:37 UTC
As far as i'm aware, canned tuna is fine.

be careful with homemade mayonnaise because of the raw eggs but store bouhgt mayo is fine.

Raw fish can be dangerous because if it makes you unwell it takes the babys nutritions away but fish that has been frozen & then prepared is apparently fine.

In England they say avoid seafood but in France they say it is fine.

Cheese to be avoided is the soft type's like brie & they say not to have to much caffine which is your tea & coffee,

but chocolate !!!!!! I hope not, i'm eating dark chocolate & crunchie bars daily !!!!! And i don't normally eat chocolate !!
Vada83
2007-11-15 12:04:49 UTC
you can eat EVERYTHING in moderation.



Such as with the mercury thing, I ate crab legs yesturday for my husbands bday and i figured that was my intake for the month. So I will eat lobster on my bday which is at the end of december. Really though, everything is alright in moderation.
searay092003
2007-11-15 11:05:46 UTC
kitty litter if you have a cat, she cant change it. Cleaning products that have ammonia in them. anything with caffeine. alcohol and drugs. she can take tylenol but nothing with aspirin.


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