1. High-Mercury Fish

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High-mercury fish include:

• Shark

• Swordfish

• King mackerel

• Tuna (especially albacore tuna)

Pregnant women should not eat high-mercury fish more than 1–2 times each month. This includes shark, swordfish, tuna and mackerel.

 

2. Undercooked or Raw Fish

Other infections may be passed on to the unborn baby with serious, or even fatal, consequences 

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Pregnant women are especially susceptible to Listeria infections. In fact, pregnant women are up to 20 times more likely to get infected by Listeria than the general population (8Trusted Source).

This bacteria can be found in soil and contaminated water or plants. Raw fish can become infected during processing, including smoking or drying.

Listeria can be passed to an unborn baby through the placenta, even if the mother is not showing any signs of illness. This can lead to premature delivery, miscarriage, stillbirth and other serious health problems.

Pregnant women are therefore advised to avoid raw fish and shellfish. This includes many sushi dishes.

SUMMARYRaw fish and shellfish can be contaminated with bacteria and parasites. Some of these can cause adverse health effects and harm both the mother and unborn baby.

 

3. Undercooked, Raw and Processed Meat

Eating undercooked or raw meat increases your risk of infection from several bacteria or parasites, including Toxoplasma, E. coli, Listeria and Salmonella (10Trusted Source, 11Trusted Source, 12Trusted Source, 13Trusted Source).

Bacteria may threaten the health of your unborn baby, possibly leading to stillbirth or severe neurological illnesses, including intellectual disability, blindness and epilepsy (14Trusted Source).

While most bacteria are found on the surface of whole pieces of meat, other bacteria may linger inside the muscle fibers.

Some whole cuts of meat — such as tenderloins, sirloins or ribeye from beef, lamb and veal — may be safe to consume when not cooked all the way through.

However, this only applies when the piece of meat is whole or uncut, and completely cooked on the outside.

Cut meat, including meat patties, burgers, minced meat, pork and poultry, should never be consumed raw or undercooked.

Hot dogs, lunch meat and deli meat are also of concern. These types of meat may become infected with various bacteria during processing or storage.

Pregnant women should not consume processed meat products unless they've been reheated until steaming hot.

SUMMARYRaw or undercooked meat may contain harmful bacteria. As a general rule, meat should be cooked all the way through.

 

4. Raw Eggs

Raw eggs can be contaminated with Salmonella.

Symptoms of Salmonella infections are usually experienced only by the mother and include fever, nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps and diarrhea (15Trusted Source, 16Trusted Source).

However, in rare cases, the infection may cause cramps in the uterus, leading to premature birth or stillbirth (17Trusted Source).

Foods that commonly contain raw eggs include:

• Lightly scrambled eggs

• Poached eggs

• Hollandaise sauce

• Homemade mayonnaise

• Salad dressings

• Homemade ice cream

• Cake icings

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5. Organ Meat

Organ meat is a great source of several nutrients.

These include iron, vitamin B12, vitamin A and copper — all of which are good for an expectant mother and her child.

However, eating too much animal-based vitamin A (preformed vitamin A) is not recommended during pregnancy.

It may cause vitamin A toxicity, as well as abnormally high copper levels, which can result in birth defects and liver toxicity (18Trusted Source, 19Trusted Source, 20Trusted Source).

Therefore, pregnant women should not eat organ meat more than once a week.

SUMMARYOrgan meat is a great source of iron, vitamin B12, vitamin A and copper. To prevent vitamin A and copper toxicity, pregnant women are advised to limit their intake of organ meat to no more than once a week.

 

6. Caffeine

Caffeine is the most commonly used psychoactive substance in the world and mainly found in coffee, tea, soft drinks and cocoa (21Trusted Source, 22Trusted Source).

Pregnant women are generally advised to limit their caffeine intake to less than 200 mg per day, or about 2–3 cups of coffee.

Caffeine is absorbed very quickly and passes easily into the placenta and fetus.

Because unborn babies and their placentas don’t have the main enzyme needed to metabolize caffeine, high levels can build up (23Trusted Source, 24Trusted Source, 25Trusted Source).

High caffeine intake during pregnancy has been shown to restrict fetal growth and increase the risk of low birth weight at delivery (26Trusted Source).

Low birth weight — defined as less than 5 lbs, 8 oz (or 2.5 kg) — is associated with an increased risk of infant death and a higher risk of chronic diseases in adulthood, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease (27Trusted Source, 28Trusted Source).

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7. Raw Sprouts

Raw sprouts, including alfalfa, clover, radish and mung bean sprouts, may be contaminated with Salmonella (29Trusted Source).

The humid environment required by seeds to start sprouting is ideal for these kinds of bacteria, and they’re almost impossible to wash off.

For this reason, pregnant women are advised to avoid raw sprouts altogether. However, sprouts are safe to consume after they have been cooked (30).

SUMMARYRaw sprouts may be contaminated with bacteria inside the seeds. Pregnant women should only eat cooked sprouts.

 

8. Unwashed Produce

The surface of unwashed or unpeeled fruits and vegetables may be contaminated with several bacteria and parasites (31Trusted Source).

These include Toxoplasma, E. coli, Salmonella and Listeria, which can be acquired from the soil or through handling.

Contamination can occur at any time during production, harvest, processing, storage, transportation or retail (29Trusted Source).

Bacteria can harm both the mother and her unborn baby. One very dangerous parasite that may linger on fruits and vegetables is called Toxoplasma.

The majority of people who get Toxoplasmosis have no symptoms, while others may feel like they have the flu for a month or more.

Most infants who are infected with Toxoplasma while still in the womb have no symptoms at birth. However, symptoms such as blindness or intellectual disabilities may develop later in life.

What's more, a small percentage of infected newborns have serious eye or brain damage at birth.

While you're pregnant, it's very important to minimize the risk of infection by thoroughly rinsing, peeling or cooking fruits and vegetables

 

9. Unpasteurized Milk, Cheese and Fruit Juice

Raw milk and unpasteurized cheese can contain an array of harmful bacteria, including Listeria, Salmonella, E. coli and Campylobacter.

The same goes for unpasteurized juice, which is also prone to bacterial contamination.

These infections can all have life-threatening consequences for an unborn baby (32Trusted Source, 33Trusted Source, 34Trusted Source, 35Trusted Source, 36Trusted Source).

The bacteria can be naturally occurring or caused by contamination during collection or storage (36Trusted Source, 37Trusted Source).

Pasteurization is the most effective way to kill any harmful bacteria, without changing the nutritional value of the products (38Trusted Source).

To minimize the risk of infections, pregnant women are advised to consume only pasteurized milk, cheese and fruit juice.

SUMMARYPregnant women should not consume unpasteurized milk, cheese or fruit juice, as these foods increase the risk of bacterial infections.

 

10. Alcohol

Pregnant women are advised to completely avoid drinking alcohol, as it increases the risk of miscarriage and stillbirth. Even a small amount can negatively impact your baby's brain development (39Trusted Source, 40Trusted Source, 41Trusted Source, 42Trusted Source).

It can also cause fetal alcohol syndrome, which involves facial deformities, heart defects and intellectual disability (43Trusted Source, 44Trusted Source).

Since no level of alcohol has been proven to be safe during pregnancy, it’s recommended to avoid it altogether.

 

 

11. Processed Junk Foods

Pregnancy is a time of rapid growth.

As a result, pregnant women need increased amounts of many essential nutrients, including protein, folate and iron.

Yet even though you’re essentially eating for two, you don't need twice the calories — about 350–500 extra calories per day during the second and third trimesters should be enough (45Trusted Source).

An optimal pregnancy diet should mainly consist of whole foods, with plenty of nutrients to fulfill the needs of the mother and growing child.

Processed junk food is generally low in nutrients and high in calories, sugar and added fats.

What's more, added sugar has been linked to a dramatically increased risk of developing several diseases, including type 2 diabetes and heart disease (46Trusted Source, 47Trusted Source).

While some weight gain is necessary during pregnancy, excess weight gain has been linked to many complications and diseases.

These include an increased risk of gestational diabetes, as well as pregnancy or birth complications. It can also increase your risk of having an overweight child (48Trusted Source, 49Trusted Source).

This causes long-term health issues since overweight children are much more likely to become overweight adults (50Trusted Source, 51Trusted Source, 52Trusted Source).

 

 

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