Foods to Avoid in Pregnancy: A Simple, Safe Eating Guide

In short: In pregnancy avoid unpasteurised milk and cheese and soft cheeses because of listeria, raw meat, liver because of its high vitamin A content, raw eggs, raw shellfish and smoked fish. Limit tuna to two portions a week, caffeine to 200 mg a day at most, and herbal tea to two cups a day.

Eating well during pregnancy helps protect both you and your baby. Many foods are perfectly safe, but a few need extra care because of the small risk of infections like listeria, toxoplasmosis, or salmonella. Here’s a simple, practical guide to help you feel confident about what’s on your plate.

• Milk and cheese:

You can eat:

• pasteurized milk, yoghurt, cream and ice cream
• pasteurized hard cheeses, such as cheddar and parmesan (in Jordan, avoid unpasteurized cheeses of any kind because of brucella)
• pasteurized semi-hard cheeses, such as edam
• pasteurized soft cheeses, such as cottage cheese, mozzarella, feta, cream cheese, paneer, ricotta, halloumi, goats’ cheese without a white coating on the outside and processed cheese spreads
• soft or blue cheese (pasteurized or unpasteurized) that has been cooked until steaming hot

Avoid

• foods made from unpasteurized milk
• pasteurized or unpasteurized mold-ripened soft cheeses with a white coating on the outside, such as brie, camembert and chèvre (unless cooked until steaming hot)
• pasteurized or unpasteurized soft blue cheeses, such as Danish blue, gorgonzola and roquefort (unless cooked until steaming hot)
• unpasteurized cows’ milk, goats’ milk, sheep’s milk or cream

Why

There’s a small chance that unpasteurized or soft ripened dairy products may contain Listeria bacteria. This can cause listeriosis which may lead to miscarriage or stillbirth, or affect the newborn.

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

That’s why we advise cooking cheese until it’s steaming hot to kill the bacteria.

Unpasteurized milk and fresh white cheeses made from it (such as some homemade or village cheeses and labneh) can also carry brucella, which can cause miscarriage or premature birth, so choose only pasteurized products.

Meat and poultry

You can eat

• chicken, pork and beef, as long as they’re well-cooked with no trace of pink or blood; be careful with sausages and burgers
• cold, pre-packed meats

What to be careful with

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

What to avoid

• raw or undercooked meat
• liver and liver products

all types of pâté, including vegetarian pâté

Why

You may get toxoplasmosis that 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 which is harmful to the unborn baby.

Eggs

You can eat

• shop-bought mayonnaise and desserts made with pasteurized egg (homemade mayonnaise, mousse or other foods with raw egg should be avoided)
• well cooked eggs (white and yolk) from any hen eggs.
• well cooked eggs (white and yolk) of all other eggs, including duck, goose or quail

What to avoid

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

Why

They may have salmonella in them that cause a food poisoning.

• fish

You can eat

• cooked fish and seafood
• sushi, as long as the fish has been cooked thoroughly
• cooked shellfish, such as mussels, lobster, crab, prawns, scallops and clams

What to limit

• you should not eat more than 2 portions of oily fish a week, such as salmon, trout, mackerel or herring
• you should not eat more than 2 tuna steaks (about 140g cooked or 170g raw) or 4 medium-size cans of tuna (about 140g when drained) per week

What to avoid

• shark, swordfish and marlin (and king mackerel, tilefish and bigeye tuna), because of their high mercury levels
• raw shellfish
• cold-smoked or cured fish (for example smoked salmon or gravlax, including in sushi), unless it has been cooked until steaming hot

Why

Because it could be contaminated with listeria bacteria which cause listeriosis. 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.

You should limit oily fish because they can have pollutants such as dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls in them.

You should avoid raw shellfish because they can have harmful bacteria, viruses or toxins in them.

Caffeine

You can have caffeine not more than 200mg per day.

More than this amount can increase the risk of having a miscarriage or low birth fetus.

Alcohol should be avoided completely during pregnancy, as there is no known safe amount.

Herbal teas

Some contain no caffeine, while others may have quite high levels. Some of the herbs used in herbal tea can also be potentially dangerous if you have a lot of them during pregnancy; especially during first trimester.

As a general rule, we advise not to take more than two cups of herbal tea a day during your pregnancy.

Fruits and vegetables

Be careful with fruits, vegetables and salads as they can have soil on them, which can make you unwell.

Make sure to thoroughly wash it.

Vitamins

Do not take high-dose multivitamin supplements, fish liver oil, or any supplements containing vitamin A (retinol). You should, however, take folic acid (400 micrograms a day, or 5 mg if your doctor advises) before pregnancy and until 12 weeks, and vitamin D (10 micrograms a day) throughout pregnancy; a multivitamin made specifically for pregnancy is fine.

If you have any questions about your diet during pregnancy, or would like personalized guidance for your own pregnancy journey, the team at Dr. Layyous clinic is here to help — feel free to reach out and discuss your care with us.

Dr Najeeb Layyous F.R.C.O.G

Consultant Obstetrician, Gynecologist and Infertility Specialist