Foods to avoid while pregnant

Avoid foods and drinks which can be harmful to the pregnancy

Don't eat anything with a lot of vitamin A

You need a small amount of vitamin A to keep healthy. However, large amounts can harm an unborn baby. So, avoid:

• liver and liver products such as liver pâté and cod liver oil supplements.
• vitamin tablets or supplements which contain vitamin A.

Don't eat food which may have high levels of listeria

Listeria is a bacterium (germ) which does not usually cause problems in people who are not pregnant. However, pregnant women are more likely to become infected with listeria, and it sometimes causes miscarriage, stillbirth, or infections in the baby after birth. Foods which are most at risk of carrying listeria are:

• undercooked meats and eggs. For example, this may occur in some pre-cooked meats and pre-prepared meals. Make sure all meat foods are cooked until piping hot. Eggs should be cooked until both the white and yolk are solid.
• soft cheeses such as brie. (Hard cheeses and processed cottage cheese are safe.)
• pâtés.
• shellfish and raw fish.
• unpasteurised milk. Note: goat's milk is often unpasteurised, and goat's milk products such as cheeses are often made from unpasteurised milk.

Don't eat fish which may contain a lot of mercury

A high level of mercury can damage the developing nervous system of an unborn baby. So:

• Do not eat shark, merlin, or swordfish.
• Limit the amount of tuna that you eat. You should eat no more than two medium sized cans (drained weight = 140 gm per can), or one fresh tuna steak per week. (This would be about six tuna sandwiches, or three tuna salads per week.)

Don't have too much caffeine

You should limit the amount of caffeine to no more than 300 mg per day. Having a lot of caffeine increases the risk of having a baby with low birth weight, and increases the risk of miscarriage. The main sources of caffeine are coffee, tea, chocolate, cola. Caffeine is also added to some 'energy' drinks and to some cough and cold remedies. As a rough guide:

• One cup of brewed coffee has about 100 mg caffeine.
• One cup of instant coffee has about 75 mg caffeine.
• One cup of tea has about 50 mg caffeine.
• One 50g chocolate bar has about 50 mg caffeine.
• One can of cola has up to 40 mg caffeine.
• One can of 'energy' drink may contain up to 80 mg caffeine.
• Check the label on medicines for quantities of caffeine.

So, you do not have to stop your favourite drinks, but you may need to limit their amount. For example, you will reach the 300 mg limit for one day if you eat two bars of chocolate, drink two cups of tea, and have a cup of brewed coffee.

Consider if you should eat peanuts

If you have an atopic disease such as asthma, eczema, or hay fever, or if a close family member has one of these conditions, then you may wish to avoid eating peanuts when you are pregnant. This may reduce the risk of your child developing peanut allergy in later life (which can be a serious and life-threatening allergy).
This advice about peanuts in pregnancy is precautionary and further research is needed to clarify this issue.