Foods and Drinks to Avoid When Pregnant

To safeguard your well-being and your baby’s healthy development, the advice is to avoid or limit these foods:

1. Certain cheeses

Due to the risk of listeria, pregnant women are advised to avoid cheeses made from unpasteurised milk and, unless these are cooked until they are steaming hot, all mould-ripened soft cheeses (such as Brie, Camembert and chèvre) and soft blue cheeses (such as Roquefort, Gorgonzola or Danish blue). In the UK, the food label should tell you if a cheese has been made with unpasteurised milk.

2. Cold meats

It is best to avoid cold cured meats such as salami, prosciutto ham, chorizo and pepperoni as these may contain toxoplasmosis. Although rare, if eaten during pregnancy, this bacterium can affect a baby’s development. Well-cooked, cold, pre-packed meats such as ham, beef, chicken and turkey are safe.

3. Pâté and haggis

Both pâté and haggis can contain liver, and this is advised against during pregnancy as it has a high vitamin A content, which may affect your baby’s development in pregnancy. Also, pâtés - whether they are meat or plant-based - have also been known to contain listeria, a bacteria which can harm your baby.

4. Eggs without the Lion Code

Unless they are completely cooked through, eggs without the Red Lion stamp could contain a bacteria called salmonella. Although salmonella will rarely cause harm to your developing baby, it can cause you severe vomiting and diarrhoea. Therefore, avoid foods containing raw or undercooked eggs, such as tiramisu, mousse or homemade mayonnaise.

5. Certain fish and raw shellfish

Due to their high content in mercury, make sure to stay away from swordfish, marlin and shark during pregnancy. Also, to avoid infections such as listeria or food poisoning, avoid smoked fish and raw shellfish.

6. Limit oily fish and tuna

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