Foods to Avoid During Pregnancy (and the Ones You Can Relax About)

Foods to avoid during pregnancy are mainly raw or undercooked meat, eggs and fish, unpasteurized milk and cheese, high-mercury fish, unheated deli meat, raw sprouts and alcohol. Keep caffeine under 200 mg a day too. The reason is simple: bacteria like listeria and salmonella hit harder when you’re pregnant, and a few things, mercury for one, can affect how your baby develops.

I know, the list sounds scary. Most moms hear about it all at once, usually while standing in a grocery aisle holding a wedge of brie and wondering if their whole life has to change. It doesn’t. The CDC says pregnant women are around ten times more likely to get listeriosis than other healthy adults, and it can harm the baby even if you barely feel sick. So the rules are there for a reason, but they get easy once you spot the pattern. Cooked, pasteurized, washed. That’s most of it.

Raw and undercooked food

Rare steak, runny yolks, homemade mayonnaise, a spoonful of cookie dough. All of these can carry salmonella or other bugs. Cook meat through, cook eggs until they’re firm, and grab a cheap food thermometer if you don’t own one. Poultry needs to hit 165°F. Honestly, that little gadget does more for your pregnancy diet than most fancy advice.

Fish, because you do want some

Fish gets a bad rap in pregnancy and it shouldn’t, since DHA for pregnancy really helps your baby’s brain and eyes. What you want to dodge is the high-mercury kind: shark, swordfish, king mackerel, tilefish and bigeye tuna. Raw fish and regular sushi are out as well, and so is cold smoked salmon from the fridge case (cooked into a dish is fine). The FDA says two to three servings a week of salmon, shrimp, cod or canned light tuna is a good target. Craving sushi? Cooked rolls or veggie ones usually scratch the itch.

Cheese, milk and the deli counter

Look for the word “pasteurized.” Brie, feta, camembert and queso fresco are okay when the label says so, and if it doesn’t say, put it back. Raw milk is a no. Deli meats, hot dogs and pâté can carry listeria even from a cold fridge, so heat them until they’re steaming or wait until after the baby. Raw sprouts are risky too, and wash all your fruit and veg properly.

Caffeine, alcohol and a couple of sneaky ones

ACOG says up to 200 mg of caffeine a day is fine. That’s about one 12 oz coffee, but tea, cola and chocolate count too, so it adds up. Alcohol is different. There’s no known safe amount, so the advice is to skip it. Go easy on liver as well. It’s loaded with preformed vitamin A, and if you’re already taking prenatal vitamins it’s easy to overdo. And ask your doctor about herbal teas, since a lot of them haven’t been studied much in pregnancy.

Mistakes people make

Trusting that the restaurant cooked everything properly is a big one, so just ask. Another is thinking organic means safe. Raw organic milk is still raw milk. And if you ate something from this list before you knew you were expecting, don’t spiral. It happens to loads of women, the risk is low, and your doctor will just want to hear about it at your next visit.

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