Pregnancy and Food

What not to eat

1. Objective: Prevention of food poisoning

Pregnant women are more susceptible to infection from food and may get very sick after them, while non-pregnant women will not be poisoned or will develop a mild illness. Embryo are especially vulnerable to food contaminants, because its immune system has not finished developing and can not fight them effectively.

The most dangerous pollutants for pregnant women are the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes and parasite Toxoplasma gondii. In addition, Salmonella bacteria and Escherichia coli can cause pregnant woman highly serious disease compared with women who are not pregnant.

Listeria monocytogenes: a bacterium found in soil, uncooked fish and meat products and unpasteurized dairy products. It can reproduce even in cooling, and therefore may also be found in an already prepared foods that are kept in the refrigerator.
At an early stage of pregnancy this bacterium can cause miscarriage. In more advanced stages of pregnancy it can cause premature birth, fetal death or cause great illness to the baby putting its life in danger. Most people who eat food contaminated with Listeria will not get sick, but pregnant women have 20 times higher-risk of developing Listeria infection (Listeriosis).
 
Toxoplasma gondii: a parasite that can be found in soil, uncooked meat products and cat’s feces.
A pregnant woman infected with Toxoplasma has 40 percent chance of infecting it to the fetus and causing him serious harm. For prevention reasons one should also use gloves when gardening and cleaning cat’s feces.

Salmonella: a bacterium that can be found mainly in uncooked meat and raw eggs. It causes severe food poisoning.
Although Salmonella is not directly harmful to the fetus, a pregnant woman can suffer from diarrhea, vomiting, fever and dehydration, which can harm it indirectly.

Escherichia coli (E. coli): E. coli can be found in various foods that have not been heated or pasteurized, or that the rules of hygiene were not kept when they were handled. In this case, such as in Salmonella, it cause an indirect damage to the fetus.

Which foods should be avoided?
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the American Dietitians Association (ADA) recommend that you avoid the following foods for fear of food poisoning:

1. Raw meat and meat that was not cooked enough; steak that is not WELL DONE, steak tartare and carpaccio.
2. Raw fish: fish carpaccio, Ceviche, Sashimi and Sushi.
3. Pate and meat spread that are kept in refrigerated. You can eat them only if they are canned or packaged in a way that gives them a long shelf life.
4. Uncooked seafood, such as oysters.
5. Unpasteurized dairy products: milk and cheese that it is unknown if they were pasteurized and cheeses like Berry, Camembert, Roquefort and blue cheese.
6. Foods that contain raw eggs or eggs that were not cooked enough;
    – Soft-boiled egg, egg yolk, egg which is still liquid.
    – Tiramisu, chocolate mousse, mousse cake, cream cake and a dessert containing cream or foam made of eggs.
    – Salad dressings that contain eggs, such as hollandaise sauce and Caesar salad dressing.
    – Home-made Mayonnaise. Manufactured Mayonnaise is prepared from pasteurized eggs, and therefore considered safe to use. However, on restaurants and events it is best to give up on salads we do not know how they were prepared and how long they stood outside the refrigerator.
    – During the preparation of cakes do not taste the mixture that contains raw eggs.
 7. Uncooked sprouts, like alfalfa sprouts.
 8. Fruit and vegetable juices that have not been pasteurized. Check on the package whether the juice is pasteurized.

Precaution
- Do not eat prepared food without first warmed it up to the boiling point. This refer to cold meat, such as bought roast chicken, sausages and smoked salmon, and any other cooked food kept refrigerated.
- Wash fruits and vegetables well using soap and water.
- Do not forget the usual rules: hand washing, separation of raw and cooked foods, thawing frozen meat on the bottom shelf in the refrigerator, use paper towels, refrigerated within two hours from cooking, and more.