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Foods To Avoid During Pregnancy
There are some foods you should avoid during pregnancy because they could harm your baby. A lot of it is common sense, but it's worth having a look through this list so you know exactly what's on and off the menu.
Dairy Products
Avoid soft cheeses with a white-mould rind such as brie, camembert and goat's cheese, or soft cheese with blue mould such as Roquefort, Danish blue, Gorgonzola. This is because of the risk of infection from listeria, which can cause miscarriage and stillbirth.
Hard cheeses are fine as they do not provide the right soft environment for listeria to grow. Other types of cheeses should be fine but check that they are made with pasteurised milk. Goat and sheep cheeses are often unpasteurised.
Don't drink unpasteurised milk.
Eggs
Don't eat raw or undercooked eggs – no runny yolks on your pizza and avoid scoffing raw cake mixture. Homemade mayonnaise often contains raw egg, so avoid that too. Raw eggs have the risk of giving you food poisoning from salmonella.
Meat
All meat needs to be cooked thoroughly. Avoid taking your steak – or any other type of meat – rare as it is uncertain whether it could carry a risk of toxoplasmosis infection, which could cause miscarriage or stillbirth.
Be really careful when cooking meat and wash your hands thoroughly after touching raw meat.
Avoid liver, liver pate and liver sausage – it is really high in vitamin A and this can damage your baby.
Avoid cured meats like salami and Parma ham, again because of a higher risk of listeriosis and toxoplasmosis.