Foods to avoid during pregnancy

I've googled this A LOT, but am having a hard time finding a comprehensive list online.  I thought I would start this topic, so you can add the foods.  For example, over the weekend, a friend told me brussel sprouts were bad during pregnancy.  What??? I hadn't heard that! I'm sure there are more out there.  Here are the ones I know of.

Deli meat (unless heated)
Soft cheeses

Can more people add to this list?  I feel like I need to start paying closer attention.

[Atia_Julii]

And can I get a deli sandwich at fast food places if the sandwich is run through a toaster?

I'm totally naive about this stuff, and can't seem to find a good source of info.

[ammanda]

Hot dogs
too much tuna
Fish with mercury
raw milk
lunch meat also

And yes sprouts and leafy green vegetables are bad for you, they contain bacteria, a certain kind starts with an "L" cant think of it right now

[Atia_Julii]

And how come no hotdogs?  That was one of my BIGGEST cravings early on, and I was eating two a day. :-(  

And is lunch meet okay if ran through a toaster or microwaved?

[ammanda]

I actually have no idea why no hot dogs, i just remember reading about it in my book.  And I'm not sure about the microwave.. I'm sure it would be fine, maybe best if you just put it in a pan on the stove for a minute.  I don't eat lunch meat. the only thing Ive ate was a grilled ham and cheese.  But my sister said she ate hot dogs the whole pregnancy and she was fine, she also ate lunch meat.  I cant do that stuff though, I stay away from everything I'm supposed to, i hate taking chances even though there's like 4 times in the whole 6 months that Ive had one cup of coffee.  

[Sunkissed19]

hotdogs are for the same reason as lunch meat because you can get listerosis from how its packaged...but if you heat both till steaming hot then your okay to eat it. dont feel bad trust me those hot dogs are not going to hurt your baby! the chances of getting listerosis while pregnant anyway arent that high...you would have to be eating a whole bunch of pre packaged cold deli meats all the time. and it isnt the eating of the meat thats dangerous to your baby its getting Listerosis thats dangerous to the baby. you would deffinitly  know if you had listerosis! but they tell you to watch out and heat your meats so you dont escalate your chances of getting Listerosis. i hope that makes more sense to you...you can read more about listerosis online and it'll tell you all about it and how it stems from pre packaging meats.

[ammanda]

Also raw or runny eggs
sweet and low
and herbal teas

[Sunkissed19]

i have no idea where  you heard that green leafy vegetables are bad for you while pregnant...they offer a very significant amount of vitamin A and folic acid which are very important to the development of your baby....you need to be eating your veggies! and the darker the color of the vegetable the more vitamins it contains! natural bacterias that vegetables hold wont hurt you while pregnant but the chemicals used on some may and thats why its important to wash all of your vegetables before eating.

[Sunkissed19]

    * soft, unpasteurized cheeses (often advertised as "fresh") such as feta, goat, Brie, Camembert, and blue cheese
    * unpasteurized milk, juices, and apple cider
    * raw eggs or foods containing raw eggs, including mousse and tiramisu
    * raw or undercooked meats, fish, or shellfish
    * processed meats such as hot dogs and deli meats (these should be well-cooked)
    * fish that are high in mercury, including shark, swordfish, king mackeral, or tilefish

these are the only ones you need to be worried about eating along with the obvious drugs and alcohol and caffine consumption (which should be limited to no more than one to two 6-8oz cups a day)

[ammanda]

oops sorry that was supposed to say raw leafy vegetables or spouts. and its in my pregnancy and childhood book that I read

[Atia_Julii]

Wow!  This is such wonderful info! I'm so glad I posted.

So back to the deli meat sandwich at a fast food joint.  I've been eating them when put under a toaster.  Is that okay?

[ammanda]

why not apple cider

[Melka76]

With my daughter and this pregnancy - besides Pizza I can only keep down bologna and cheese sandwhiches... I am not heating all of them - but fried bologna is good too!!  I know there are nitrates and such - but if that is all I can keep down.. it will have to suffice for now.  Everything else is still coming back up - I am only 14w2d  so the morning sickness should subside soon - then I hope to eat all sorts of yummy healthy food

[jade_21]

You only have to worry about apple cider if it is unpasteurized.  However, if you heated it up and had it as a warm apple cider, you should be fine.  Ceaser salad dressing is also one thing that contains raw eggs that many people don't think about.

[Victoria01]

Apple cider is fine, just like egg nog, as long as it is pasteurized and not homemade. Most that you buy from a grocery store (at least in the US) is pasteurized, just read the label.  

I have never heard of not eating raw, leafy vegetables. My OB and my books say they are fine as long as they are washed first. I would be in big trouble without my salads, especially with the morning sickness and I couldn't eat ANY cooked food as it would make me sick. :)

Chunk light tuna is fine, as long as it's under 6 oz a week, what is NOT fine is the white albacore as it contains a lot of mercury.

I'm not sure about the deli meat run through the toaster, as I don't really care for deli meat, so I would ask your doctor about that. But like Sunkissed said, it is very rare to get sick off of it.

There are certain herbal teas that are a no-no, and most doctors say to keep caffeine intake to less than 300mg a day.

If you ask your doctor, they will give you a list of dos and don'ts as to what to eat and other things like which medications you can take and which to avoid.

[Lucey12]

Im glad you posted it too! Hotdogs was my biggest cravings for the past 2 weeks.

[Atia_Julii]

I am so better informed now.  You ladies are the BEST. :-D

[ammanda]

I have no idea that's just what my book said. Its called "great expectations"  And I know what you mean all I ate for the first three months was salad and Soup, everything else just came back up

[Sunkissed19]

ive never heard of the raw leafy vegetable thing as being an issue either lol if it is bad for you then im screwed because ive been eating a lot of romain lettuce! lol and i deffinitly dont cook my salad!

[worrieddd612]

deli sandwiches if they're heated are fine..like paninis and stuff like that. everytime i make a sandwich i heat up the deli meat for about a minute in the microwave...so the toaster would be no different. i haven't read all the posts so im sorry if im repeating stuff buttt here goes:
for fish here's a good link that will tell you all the fish you can't eat and the ones to eat in moderation
http://www.*****************.org/pregnancyhealth/fishmercury.htm
also sushi if its raw
any cheese, juices, etc that are unpasteurized. the label should say pasteurized or made with pasteurized milk (for example a lot of feta cheese in the grocery stores is pasteurized nowadays you just have to check the label)
watch out for any cookie dough, pizza dough, etc that contains egg..dont eat it if its not cooked
i heard citrus fruits are supposed to cause contractions if eaten later in pregnancy...although that might just be a myth
a letter that my doctor gave me also says "dont eat refrigerated pate, meat spreads from a meat counter, or smoked seafood found in the refrigerated section of the store. do not eat salads made in the store such as ham salad, chicken salad, egg salad, tuna or seafood salad." all of those have to do with listeriosis
umm alcohol obviously...and apparently cooking food in alcohol still leaves like 40% of the alcohol so its up to your preference at the point.
as far as spices and herbs go here is a link although im not sure how reliable and i wouldn't worry too much about it except for large quanitities
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art24325.asp

[worrieddd612]

replace all those stars with american pregnancy except one word

[Lucey12]

Wait a sec, if hotdogs is for the same reason as deli meats, then doesnt it just need to be cooked? Im not going to worry about a hot dog here and there. If it was super bad to have even once Im sure there would be a warning label on it saying not for pregnant women. These days people will sue over everything that they even need to put that on smokes... duh!

[bluegenie2003]

My doctor told me that raw vegetables are fine as long as they're washed, its just not a good idea to eat them from a public salad bar.  They're washed before they're put out, but so many people have the opportunity to handle them that the chance of bacteria goes up.

[Sasha80]

Leafy greens are REALLY good for you (as Sunkissed stated).  Just make sure you wash them really well.  Honey is another no no if it's unpasturized.  

[Eirlis]

I've read a number of articles that say that raw sushi is perfectly safe. It's routinely eaten in Japan by millions of pregnant women and the chances of getting sick are very low. All of our sushi is flash frozen which kills any nasties in it.

[Brittny27]

I went to culinary school and during Safety and Sanitation Class I got Listeriosis as my foodbourne illness. I know so much about this bug that it freaks me out.  The reason why it's so dangerous is that it gets in your blood stream and can take anywhere from 10-45 days to show any symptoms and after that long it's harder to track down what food you ate 45 days ago.  There has been a ton of cases here because we have a high population of Hispanics that are making cheese at home. However comercialy there are less than 500 cases a year. That so minimal that as long as you follow the rules and heat your lunch meat and hot dogs up there shouldn't be any need for worry.

I have been wondering about Ice Cream. I have heard your not suppose to eat it for the same reason listeria. However it's like an american icon pregnant woman eating a tub of ice cream. I've had a few ice cream bars. I am in love with Blue Bunny Birthday Cake ice cream sandwiches!!!  

[TRENIECE]

Wait.. No ice cream? I've been eating ice cream like crazy!!! Now i did read somewhere that too much vitamin a is also bad for the baby? It's so much to worry about when pregnant! I'm almost scared to eat!

[penswriter]

i ate TONS of ice cream when i was pregnant.

my ob told me to steer clear of any shell fish (shrimp, crab, lobster),  not to eat as much fish (they tend to have high mercury contents), no deli meat (something about the processed meats is bad), a little caffeine as possible (i had half a cup of regular coffee in the morning but did switch over to green tea completely). those were the only things i was told to REALLY stay away from.

[faye83]

The only things I don't eat are 1) deli stuff like hams, etc and 2) fish high in mercury. And yes I do eat sushi. I'm sorry but pregnant women in cultures around the world eat raw fish (either sushi or ceviche) and they are ok, in my culture is totally fine so I'm sticking to it. As long as you don't go to a super shady place where the fish smell nasty, then I wouldn't eat it. Oh and I don't drink alcohol either. Besides that, everything is fine IMO. I've also eaten eggs benedict (meaning raw egg) and I'm fine too. As long as you know where your food is coming from (if its raw) and if its not expired, then its ok.