There are some foods to steer clear of because they could cause harm to a developing baby, especially in the early weeks. You may not be pregnant yet, but you might be soon. Cross these off your shopping list:
- Liver and foods made from liver, like pâté or liver sausage - these contain high levels of Vitamin A which can cause harm in large amounts.
- Unpasteurised Milk - either from cows or goats - as it could contain a bacteria called listeria, which can harm your baby.
- Cheeses made from unpasteurized milk, and mould - ripened cheeses such as Brie, Camembert, and blue cheeses such as Stilton or Danish Blue. These could also contain listeria.
- Eggs that are raw or not completely cooked - homemade mousse and cheescake, fresh mayonnaise, or home-made ice cream, for example. The eggs could contain salmonella bacteria which cause sickness. Shop mayonnaise in jars is fine as it’s made with pasteurised (heat-treated) eggs.
- Peanuts - eating peanuts during pregnancy may be linked to a peanut allergy in some children, especially if there is a family history of allergy such as asthma, eczema or food allergy - so you may want to avoid them to be on the safe side.
- Swordfish, Marlin, Shark and limit Tuna to two cans or one fresh tuna steak a week. These fish have relatively high levels of mercury which could harm an unborn baby
Resources
General Pregnancy
Pregnancy at About.com (http://pregnancy.about.com/)
Pregnancy and Parenting at iVillage (http://parenting.ivillage.com/)
Pregnancy Symptoms (http://www.epigee.org/pregnancy/symptoms.html)
Top Ten Signs You Might be Pregnant (http://www.babycenter.com/pregnancy-symptoms)
Pregnancy Symptoms from MedicineNet (http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=79528)
Pregnancy at BabyZone (http://www.babyzone.com/loadpage/topic.asp?topicid=125628)
Childbirth
ChildBirth.org (http://www.childbirth.org/)
Childbirth on WikiPedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Childbirth)
Childbirth Photos and Videos (http://technorati.com/tag/childbirth)
National Institute of Health (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/childbirth.html)
Unassisted Childbirth (http://www.unassistedchildbirth.com/)
Pain Medications During Labor (http://www.babies.sutterhealth.org/laboranddelivery/ld_meds.html)
Labor Pain Meds at Mayo Clinic (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/labor-and-delivery/PR00105)
Complications
Pregnancy complications at BabyCenter.com (http://www.babycenter.com/pregnancy/pregcomplications/index)
Bacterial Vaginosis (http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancycomplications/bacterialvaginoses.htm)
Incompetent Cervix (http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancycomplications/incompetentcervix.html)
Chronic Hypertension (http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/pregnancy/pregcomplications/1427404.html)
Ectopic or Tubal Pregnancy (http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/pregnancy_newborn/pregnancy/ectopic.html)
Gestational Diabetes (http://www.diabetes.org/gestational-diabetes.jsp)
Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR) (http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/women/pregnancy/fetal/313.html)
Iron deficiency anemia during pregnancy (http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/pregnancy/pregcomplications/3073.html)
Placenta Previa (http://pregnancy.about.com/cs/placentaprevia/a/previa.htm)
Placental Abruption (http://folsomobgyn.com/placental_abruption.htm)
Pre-Eclampsia (http://www.preeclampsia.org/)
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