Pregnancy Eating: What’s Safe, What’s Not

So, you have a bun in the oven, with cravings galore, and you want to know what’s safe and what’s not when it comes to eating. While you will need to check with your caregiver during pregnancy, here are some general guidelines for choosing healthy foods for your baby and your body during this critical time of development.

-Avoid soft cheeses made from unpasteurized milk. Instead, eat hard cheeses such as cheddar and Swiss cheese, while still checking the label to ensure that they are pasteurized cheeses.

-Avoid raw cookie dough and raw cake batter. Instead, bake the cookies and the cake batter to help protect against salmonella.

-Avoid fish high in mercury, such as shark, tilefish, king mackerel and swordfish. Instead, enjoy up to twelve ounces of shrimp, salmon or catfish per week. Also, limit albacore tuna to six ounces per week.

-When possible, try to eat organic fruits and veggies. Also, avoid highly processed foods for greater health for yourself and for your growing baby.

-Avoid or limit coffee intake, as well as tea. Even herbal teas need to be researched, as certain ones are not safe for consumption while pregnant and others aid in your pregnancy. It is important to know which ones are approved for consumption while pregnant.

-Several superfoods to add to your grocery list while pregnant include frozen wild blueberries, Swiss chard, kidney beans, sesame seeds and plain whole milk yogurt.

Once again, as with anything, when in doubt do the research and ask your pregnancy caregiver for safety guidelines.