What NOT to eat in pregnancy.. A quick one for you to read!

So, now you're pregnant everyone is telling you what you should and shouldn't be doing. The most frustrating thing is not knowing what you can and cant eat! We've made a quick video (available on our Instagram (@bloom_midwives) if you want to check it out and save it (even screenshot it if you think it'll help when you are out and about! 

That's great as a quick tool - however read on more if you want to know the WHY you cant eat these things in pregnancy:

Diary / Cheese / Milk 

What to steer away from:

• any foods made from unpasteurised milk, such as soft ripened goats' cheese
• pasteurised or unpasteurised mould-ripened soft cheeses with a white coating on the outside, such as brie, camembert and chèvre (unless cooked until steaming hot)
• pasteurised or unpasteurised soft blue cheeses, such as danish blue, gorgonzola and roquefort (unless cooked until steaming hot).
• unpasteurised cows' milk, goats' milk, sheep's milk or cream

Why do you need to avoid them?

There's a small chance that unpasteurised or soft ripened dairy products may contain Listeria bacteria. This can cause an infection called Listeriosis. Listeriosis can lead to miscarriage or even stillbirth, or make your newborn baby very unwell.

Soft cheeses with a white coating on the outside have more moisture. This can make it easier for bacteria to grow.

Cooking cheese until it's steaming hot kills bacteria, reducing the risk of listeriosis - if you want these cheeses it would be advised to cook these yourself so you know that the cheese is steaming hot. 

Meat and Poultry 

What to be careful with

• cold cured meats, such as salami, pepperoni, chorizo and prosciutto (unless cooked thoroughly) - be aware of this when buying from a supermarket as they may not cooked and may be raw, so cook thoroughly yourself. 

What to steer away from:

• raw or under cooked meat
• liver and liver products
• all types of pâté, including vegetarian pâté
• game meats such as goose, partridge or pheasant

Why

There's a small risk of getting toxoplasmosis if you eat raw and under cooked meat, which can cause miscarriage. 

Cured meats are not cooked, so they may have parasites in them that cause toxoplasmosis.

Liver and liver products have lots of vitamin A in them. This can be harmful to an unborn baby.

Game meats may contain lead shot.

Eggs 

What to steer away from: 

• raw or partially cooked hen eggs 
• raw or partially cooked duck, goose or quail eggs

Why

There is lots of evidence to ensure you do eat British Lion hen eggs as they are under a scheme and therefore are less likely to have salmonella in them. Salmonella is unlikely to harm your unborn baby however you could get food poisoning which is really not worth it. So ensure when you are buying eggs they have the Lion Stamp on them 

Fish 

What to steer away from:

• swordfish
• marlin
• shark
• raw shellfish including prawns, crabs, mussels, lobsters, crayfish. 
• cold-smoked or cured fish (for example smoked salmon or gravlax, including in sushi), unless it has been cooked until steaming hot

Why

You should avoid ready-to-eat cold-smoked or cured fish because it could be contaminated with listeria bacteria. These bacteria can cause an infection called listeriosis, which can lead to miscarriage or stillbirth, or make your newborn baby seriously ill. Cooking smoked or cured fish until it's steaming hot will kill any bacteria that may be present.

You should limit tuna because it has more mercury in it than other fish. If you eat too much mercury, it can be harmful to your unborn baby. Having 4 tuna cans a week as a maximum amount OR 2 Tuna steaks a week. 

You should limit oily fish because they can have pollutants such as dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls in them. If you eat too much of these, they can be harmful to your unborn baby. Tuna is not classed as an oily fish unless you buy it in a tin (such as brine or water which can be oily). You should avoid raw shellfish because they can have harmful bacteria, viruses or toxins in them. These can make you unwell and give you food poisoning.

Other Foods:

You can eat peanuts when you're pregnant. Only avoid eating peanuts if you're advised to by a healthcare professional, or if you have a nut allergy.

Liquorice is safe to eat. But you should avoid liquorice root.

Be careful with fruits, vegetables and salads as they can have soil on them, which can make you unwell. So please ensure all fruit/veg that you buy (even if its in a packet is thoroughly washed before you eat it. 

Drinks

You can have caffeine, but no more than 200mg per day. Regularly drinking more than this amount can increase your risk of pregnancy complications, such as low birthweight, and even miscarriage.

There is:

• 100mg in a mug of instant coffee
• 140mg in a mug of filter coffee
• 75mg in a mug of tea (green tea can have the same amount of caffeine as regular tea)
• 40mg in a can of cola
• 80mg in a 250ml can of energy drink
• less than 25mg in a 50g bar of plain dark chocolate
• less than 10mg in a 50g bar of plain milk chocolate

**Be mindful that some costa/starbucks coffees can contain up to 300mgs of caffeine in them so be wary if this is where you get your usual coffee - might be worth switching over to decaf!

Herbal teas

The caffeine content can vary quite widely between different brands of herbal tea. Some contain no caffeine, while others may have quite high levels.

Check the ingredients label on the packet to see how much caffeine is in a brand. Some of the herbs used in herbal tea can also be potentially dangerous if you have a lot of them during pregnancy; especially during weeks 1 to 12 (first trimester).

As a general rule, if you drink no more than 1 to 2 cups of herbal tea a day during your pregnancy, you should be fine.

Alcohol

Drinking alcohol in pregnancy can lead to long-term harm to your baby.

If you're pregnant or planning to get pregnant, the safest approach is to not drink alcohol at all. This keeps the risks to your baby to a minimum. 

Vitamins

Do not consume any vitamins that contain Vitamin A in them, so be sure you do check on the back of any multivitamins that you may buy and do not ingest any vitamin A. Vitamin A is also known as retinol so be mindful if you do use skin products that contain this as this should not be used in pregnancy either. 

Being mindful when eating out ..........

If you are still unsure of any of the above and fancy a chat with us midwives - book in a call with us: 

https://calendly.com/thebloomcollaboration/60-min-1-1-consultation

https://calendly.com/thebloomcollaboration/30min