It can be challenging to know what foods are safe during pregnancy—and which ones aren’t. In some cases, it depends on your health care provider. Some doctors will tell you to abstain 100 percent from caffeine, while others will it's fine within a daily limit. Remember: it’s important to ask your health care provider about which foods are safe and unsafe during pregnancy. 

Safe and Unsafe Foods for Pregnant Women

Foods you can eat and those you should stay away from apply to all three trimesters of your pregnancy. Here are some foods that women wonder about that most health care providers agree are safe during pregnancy:

• Thoroughly cooked meats, fish and shellfish
• Cooked eggs
• Dried and salted deli meats
• Washed fruits and vegetables
• Pasteurized hard cheeses 
• Processed soft and semi-soft cheeses 

Here are some foods that are not safe during pregnancy:

• Fish that’s high in mercury, such as shark, tuna and swordfish
• Undercooked or raw fish, raw seafood and raw shellfish
• Raw or undercooked eggs
• Raw sprouts
• Non-dried deli meats 
• Refrigerated pâtés, meat spreads and smoked seafoods
• Unpasteurized and raw milk cheeses
• Pasteurized soft and semi-soft cheeses that are not processed

Many women ask if they can keep drinking coffee during pregnancy. Most health care providers say that pregnant women can have two small cups of brewed coffee each day. Remember that energy drinks and chocolate can contain caffeine, so factor that into your total. 

Alcohol during pregnancy is an even trickier topic, because the recommendations vary by country. Ask your doctor about how much (if any) alcohol is safe during pregnancy. 

Food-borne Illnesses in Pregnancy

We all need to be cautious of food-borne illnesses, and they can be more dangerous when you’re pregnant. For example, if a pregnant woman is exposed to the listeria bacteria, she is 20 times more likely to develop listeriosis.

Sources of food-borne illnesses include raw or undercooked seafood, raw meats, raw eggs, soft and semi-soft cheeses, unwashed vegetables and unpasteurized honey.

Talk to your healthcare provider if you'd like more information on safe foods during pregnancy. 

Visit HealthChoicesFirst.com for more pregnancy resources.