What foods are completely off limits during pregnancy?
Don’t eat these foods during pregnancy. They can be really harmful to you and your baby.
- Certain meats and fish
- Raw or undercooked meat, including beef, poultry and pork. This includes hotdogs and deli meat (like ham or bologna).
- Raw fish, especially shellfish
- Fish that can be high in mercury, like shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish. Always check with your local health department before you eat any fish you catch yourself.
- Refrigerated pates, meat spreads or smoked seafood Certain dairy products
- Raw or lightly cooked eggs or foods made with them (i.e. cake batter and raw cookie dough).
- Soft-scrambled eggs
- Unpasteurized juice or milk or any foods made with them
- Unpasteurized soft cheeses, such as brie, feta, Camembert, Roquefort, queso blanco, queso fresco and Panela
- Other
- Raw sprouts, especially alfalfa sprouts
- Nonfood items, like clay, starch, paraffin or coffee grounds. Tell your provider if you crave anything like this that’s not food.