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Hey Mom-to-be! Have you become extra cautious about your pregnancy diet? Are you double-checking every bite, wondering if it’s safe for your developing baby? We get it! While knowing what to eat is essential, being aware of the foods to avoid during pregnancy is just as crucial. That’s because some foods that are perfectly fine in everyday life can have unexpected adverse effects during pregnancy.
In this blog, we have listed 8 such common food items that are best avoided during this delicate phase. Let’s read about them in more detail below.
Foods To Avoid During Pregnancy
You should avoid the following foods (and drinks) if you are pregnant:
1. High Mercury Fish
Fish tend to absorb mercury from the seas and oceans they feed in. This mercury can be dangerous to your baby’s developing nervous system. A few high mercury fish include shark, ray, swordfish, barramundi, gemfish, orange roughy, ling and southern bluefin tuna.
2. Undercooked Seafood
Raw or undercooked fish and seafood can sometimes host harmful bacteria or viruses. When consumed without cooking up to the recommended levels, these can cause infections in pregnant women. Such infections are not only dangerous to the mother’s health but can also cause pregnancy loss and birth defects.
3. Undercooked Meat
Pregnant women should also be careful about the meat they consume as they carry the potential risk of being contaminated with coliform bacteria, toxoplasmosis, and salmonella. Poultry, beef and any other meat or meat products (like deli) must be properly heated and cooked before consumption.
4. Organ Meat
Organ meat such as the liver is a good source of nutrients like iron. However expectant women should avoid eating them due to their high Vitamin A content and a possible risk of toxicity.
5. Raw Sprouts, Unwashed Fruits & Vegetables
Harmful bacteria can also thrive on the surface of raw fruits and vegetables. So if you’re pregnant, you must wash all fruits and vegetables thoroughly before cooking them. Also, be extremely careful about eating raw sprouts such as alfalfa, clover, radish, and mung bean.
6. Unpasteurised Dairy Products
Unpasteurised dairy products such as milk, cream and cheese can harbour dangerous pathogens like Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria, etc. These can cause food poisoning in the mother and increase the risk of miscarriage, illness or death of the newborn.
7. Processed Foods
Processed foods are high in calories and low in nutritional value. Studies have shown that eating ultra-processed foods during pregnancy increases the risk of diabetes, pregnancy weight gain, high blood pressure and increased inflammation in the body. Moreover, it has a negative impact on your baby’s growth and development.
8. Coffee
If you are an expectant mother, you should also limit your intake of caffeine. And that includes coffee as well as other caffeinated beverages. Try not to drink more than 1-2 cups a day as excess caffeine consumption increases your risk of miscarriage, low birth weight in your baby, and other pregnancy complications.
Final Note
Knowing what to eat and what foods to avoid during pregnancy is important. By following these dietary guidelines, you can ensure that you and your baby are safe and healthy. But hey, want to hear of another way to ensure your baby’s health? It’s CORD BLOOD BANKING! Preserving your baby’s cord blood at birth gives your family a safety net to rely on. These cord blood stem cells can go on to protect you, your baby and your entire family against the impact of 80+ deadly diseases.
Wondering where to get this done? Check out LifeCell—India’s leading stem cell bank that has won the trust of over 4.5 lakh parents so far. With a repository of 75000+ cord blood units, LifeCell assures you of a >97% chance of finding a stem cell match if the need arises.
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