What to Eat When Pregnant?

Wow how that little blue line changes your life!!! On the one hand you don't need to worry about buying tampons, but on the other there is a brand new list of dos and don'ts to keep your precious little bundle safe! What to eat when pregnant is something that gets asked time and time again.

It can be a complete minefield. You may find yourself turning down alcohol while trying to ignore the well meaning comments from relatives who have different advice. If I had a penny for the number of times I was told by my family that they were prescribed Guinness as a good source of iron, I would be rich!

Needless to say Guinness did not enter my body while pregnant!

So what to eat when pregnant?

Read on to find out!

The NHS advice is

What to eat when pregnant - Dairy

The NHS advice is that you CAN eat

• Unpasteurised or pasteurised hard cheeses, such as parmesan, cheddar, and gruyere are safe.

• pasteurised semi-hard cheeses, such as Stilton and Edam

• pasteurised soft cheeses, such as cottage cheese, paneer, mozzarella, feta, ricotta, cream cheese,halloumi, processed cheese spreads and goats' cheese without a white coating on the outside (rind).

• Blue or soft cheese (pasteurised or unpasteurised) that has been cooked until steaming.

• pasteurised yoghurt, milk, cream and ice cream

What not to eat

• any foods made from unpasteurised milk, eg soft ripened goats' cheese

• unpasteurised or pasteurised mould-ripened soft cheeses with a white coating on the outside, such as chèvre , Camembert and Brie (unless cooked until steaming hot)

• pasteurised or unpasteurised soft blue cheeses, eg Danish blue,

• Gorgonzola and Roquefort (unless cooked until steaming)

• unpasteurised milk or cream, from a cow, goat, sheep

Why

During pregnancy your body is more susceptible to listeriosis a bacterial infection caused by eating the listeria bacteria which can be found on unpasteurized or soft ripened cheese or unpasteurized milk. Either avoid these products or cook them until they are steaming hot which will reduce the risk.

Meat

The NHS advice is that you CAN eat

• meats such as beef, chicken, and pork, as long as they're well-cooked and contain no trace of pink or blood; be super careful with poultry, pork, sausages and burgers

• cold, pre-packed meats such as corned beef, ham and chicken.

What to be careful with

• cold cured meats, such as pepperoni, salami, chorizo prosciutto (unless cooked thoroughly)

What not to eat

• raw or undercooked meat

• liver and any liver products

• all types of pâté, including vegetarian pâté

• game meats such as partridge, pheasant or goose
  

What to eat when pregnant -Eggs

The advice has changed on this in recent years and the NHS now say that that you can eat

• raw, partially cooked and fully cooked British Lion hen eggs (they have a lion stamp on them) and any hen eggs produced under the Laid in Britain scheme

• foods made with raw hen egg, such as mayonnaise and mousse, as long as it is made with British Lion eggs or hen eggs produced under the Laid in Britain scheme

• well cooked eggs (white and yolk) from any chicken eggs that are not British Lion eggs or produced under the Laid in Britain scheme and well cooked eggs (white and yolk) of all other eggs, including duck, goose or quail

What not to eat

• raw or partially cooked hen eggs that are not British Lion or produced under the Laid in Britain scheme

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

Why

British Lion hen eggs and hen eggs produced under the Laid in Britain scheme are less likely to have salmonella in them.

What to eat when pregnant - Fish and seafood

The NHS advice is that you CAN eat

• sushi, as long as the fish has been cooked thoroughly

• cooked fish and seafood

• cold pre-cooked prawns

• cooked shellfish, such as lobster, mussels, crab, scallops, prawns and clams

What to be cautious with

• smoked fish, such as smoked salmon and trout

Seafood to limit

• don't eat no more than 2 portions of oily fish a week, such as trout, salmon, herring or mackerel

• you should eat no more than 2 tuna steaks -about 170g raw or 140g cooked - or 4 medium-size cans of tuna -about 140g when drained- per week drained - per week

You can have 4 medium-size cans of fish or 2 tuna steaks, as well as 2 portions of oily fish.

What not to eat

• marlin

• swordfish

• raw shellfish

• shark

Why

You should limit tuna because it has more mercury in it than other fish. Oily fish have pollutants in them. These can be harmful to your unborn baby.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.

Caffeine

The NHS advice is that you CAN drink caffeine, don't drink more than 200mg per day.

There is:

• instant coffee has 100mg per mug

• cola has 40mg per can

• tea has 75mg per mug ( be careful as green tea can have the same amount of caffeine as regular tea)

• filter coffee has 140mg per mug

Alcohol

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

If you're pregnant or planning to get pregnant, it is safest not to drink alcohol at all. This will keep the risk to a minimum.

So there you have it! There is lots more advice on the NHS website about these foods and drinks and also pregnancy in general here

If you have any concerns always ask your midwife or GP for advice