Family - Food Hazards

Foods to avoid in pregnancy

There isn't much you have to be careful about in pregnancy, really, so long as you are sensible. However, there are a few hazards that you should be aware of.

Toxoplasmosis
This can cause miscarriage of a young fetus, and blindness and brain damage in a baby. It is usually contracted by eating raw or undercooked meat, particularly chicken, or by coming in to contact with the faeces of infected animals, most commonly cats.

Symptoms include diarrhoea and raised temperature, and develop about 20 days after infection. About 80% of the UK population have come in to contact with toxomoplasmosis at some point and have developed antibodies, so the older the mother, the lower the risk.

Listeria
Listeriosis is a 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. It is most commonly contracted from eating cooked and chilled foods, soft cheeses, pates, and undercooked meat. It's pretty rare, but it's probably better to be safe than sorry, so avoid:

• 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),

• Ready made salads, such as potato salad and colesla

• Fats food ie ready-prepared meals or re-heated food, unless they are piping hot all the way through.

Mercury Poisoning
Avoid eating shark, swordfish or marlin, as they often contain high levels of mercury, which can harm your baby's developing nervous system. You should also limit the amount of tuna you eat, as this can also be high in mercury. Don't eat more than one tuna steak, or four medium sized tins (about 140g a tin) of tuna a week. 

 
 
 
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