What to eat when pregnant

When you are pregnant you need a balance of the right types of food to help your baby grow and develop. The following foods may contain elements which could be harmful to your unborn child, and you are advised to avoid them:

  • Soft/blue cheeses
  • Unpasteurised milk products
  • Raw meats, pâtés, liver, raw/soft eggs
  • More than 2 portions of tuna, salmon, trout, mackerel and herring a week
  • Herbs including; Liquorice root, Ginseng, Hibiscus, Yerba Mate and Nettle. If you are unsure of if a herb is safe speak to your midwife.
  • Limit caffeine to no more than 200mg per day.

Toxoplasmosis is infection which is not usually dangerous to healthy adults and children but could harm an unborn baby. We do not routinely test for this infection but would advise the following precautions:

  • If you do not have to pick up or handle cats, then don’t
  • Cat owners, in particular, should take extra care since the infection can be caught from cat faeces—you should, for example, wear rubber gloves when changing cat litter
  • Wash your hands thoroughly before preparing any food
  • Ensure raw meats are stored separately at the bottom of your fridge and only eat meat which has been cooked thoroughly
  • Fridge should be kept at less than 5oC and freezer less than -18oC.
  • Wash fruit and vegetables thoroughly to remove all traces of soil

 

Eating a healthy, varied diet in pregnancy will help you get most of the vitamins and minerals you need. But when you're pregnant, or there's a chance you might get pregnant, it’s important to also take a folic acid supplement and vitamin D supplement. Use this link to find out the latest guidance about nutrition, vitamins and supplements in pregnancy: https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/keeping-well/vitamins-supplements-and-nutrition/

 

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