Note: This is the 1st installment in a series of posts designed to help moms and moms-to-be stay healthy through their 40-week pregnancy journey. You can find links to all of the posts that make up this series at the bottom of this post. Ideas for future posts? Let us know!
Being pregnant is a tiring, painful, and incredible journey for nine (well, closer to ten) months. But, it is also a valid excuse to eat more food. While that sounds great, there are an insane amount of restrictions.
You can find an exhaustive list of dangerous foods to eat while expecting here, but we have included some of the more popular foods that you may not realize can be harmful.
- Spicy Foods. For those of you with a knack for the heat, stay away from it while pregnant. It may not harm your baby, but it can lead to much worse heartburn when pregnant. Nobody wants that!
- High Mercury Fish: The top-of-the-food chain fish contain high levels of mercury, which is not necessarily good for anyone. However, it is especially bad for pregnant women as it can be harmful to a baby’s developing kidneys, lungs, vision, and hearing.
- Raw or Runny Eggs: Eggs are a great source of protein, but when they are not fully cooked things get a bit dicey as you’re there’s risk of salmonella and other food-borne illnesses. The main issue is food poisoning. Since your immune system is weaker while pregnant a bug that may not have caused food poisoning before might effect you now.
- Soft Cheeses: Soft cheeses that are made with unpasteurized milk can contain listeria. Listeria is a bacteria that can cause miscarriage or preterm delivery. Soft cheeses include, but are not limited to: feta, goat cheese, blue cheese, and queso blanco. So basically look for pasteurized milk in the cheeses you eat.
- Sushi: Sushi is a definite a no-go while pregnant. Just like the eggs, there is a greater risk of food poisoning. However, the raw fish could contain a parasite which is harder to treat in pregnancy and is especially painful!
- Cold Cuts and Deli Meat: Try to avoid deli meat straight from the counter or container. Like the soft cheeses, deli meat can contain listeria bacteria. Heating up the meats in the microwave until it is warmed through will make it safer to eat as the heat will help kill any harmful bacteria.
Those are six out of a list of foods to watch out for. While you need to eat more while being pregnant to fulfill your baby’s needs, be sure to eat the right foods!
Other posts in our “Pregnancy Health” series include:
- Remedies to Cure Morning Sickness caused by Pregnancy
- Getting Things Done during Pregnancy – Dealing with Fatigue while you’re Expecting
Love,