One of the most important ingredients in a healthy pregnancy is eating well balanced meals. Your baby needs essential vitamins, nutrients and minerals. Although most foods are safe during pregnancy, a few should be avoided.
Pregnant? Avoid these foods!
Reprinted with permission from American Pregnancy Association
Eating well balanced meals is important at all times, but it is even more essential when you are pregnant. There are essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals that your developing baby needs. Most foods are safe; however there are some foods that you should avoid during pregnancy.
What are the foods I should avoid during pregnancy?
Raw Meat:
Sushi, uncooked seafood, rare or uncooked beef or poultry should be avoided because of the risk of contamination with coliform bacteria, toxoplasmosis, and salmonella.
Deli Meat:
Deli meats have known to be contaminated with Listeria, which can cause miscarriage. Listeria has the ability to cross the placenta and may infect the baby leading to infection, or blood poisoning which may be life-threatening. If you are pregnant and you are considering eating deli meats, make certain that you reheat the meat to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
Liver:
There is some concern about the amounts of vitamin A in liver. Large amounts of vitamin A have the potential to pose a risk to an unborn baby. The safest approach is to avoid eating liver.
Fish with Mercury:
Fish that contain high levels of mercury should be avoided. These types of fish include: shark, swordfish, kink mackerel, fresh tuna, sea bass, and tilefish. Canned tuna is safe, but you should not eat more than 12 oz. in a week. Mercury consumed during pregnancy has been linked to developmental delays and brain damage.