Video:Foods You Shouldn't Eat When You're Pregnant

Transcript:Foods You Shouldn't Eat When You're Pregnant

Hi I'm Jen D'Amore, and this video is all about foods you shouldn't eat when you're pregnant using tips from About.com's Pregnancy and Childbirth site

"We are what eat" is a statement that seems to be taken a bit more seriously when carrying a child and eating for two. Some foods should absolutely be avoided, as they have been found to increase the risk, or cause serious infections and birth defects. Just because our adult bodies may be able to tolerate these foods, doesn't mean they wont be dangerous to the baby growing inside.

Avoid Raw Meat During Pregnancy

Raw meat, including sushi and rare or undercooked meat, is to be avoided during pregnancy. Eating it risks being infected with salmonella or toxoplasmosis. Taxoplasmosis is caused by a parasite, and is also the reason you should avoid cat litter boxes. To avoid being infected with salmonella you'll also want to avoid eating raw eggs. Besides avoiding mayo and custards, you'll need to control yourself when it's time to scrape the bowl and restrain from eating cake batter and raw cookie dough.

Cheeses to Avoid During Pregnancy

Any cheese you eat during pregnancy needs to have been pasteurized, a process that kills harmful bacteria. Soft, unpasteurized, mold-ripened, and blue-veined cheeses, including brie, feta, bleu cheese, are more likely to cause listeria (and should be avoided.)

Limit Fish and Deli Meat While Pregnant

Fish should be avoided for a few reasons: high levels of mercury (that can lead to brain damage), and PCBs that can cause a lower IQ as well as difficulties with memory). Mercury is accumulated in a fish over it's lifetime, so fish with the longest life spans may carry the most methyl mercury including sword fish, king mackerel shark, and tile fish.

PCBs are now banned, but can still be found in lakes and streams, making fresh caught fish more likely to contain PCBs then fish caught as part of a commercial production. So avoid eating fish caught by family or friends, or fish where the origin is unclear.Small amounts of shellfish, canned fish, and smaller ocean fish are safe to eat, limiting the amount of fish eaten per week, and of course, avoiding sushi completely since it is raw meat.

Deli meats carry a risk of listeriosis. Deli meats can be eaten as long as they are reheated to an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Finally, unlike fruits and vegetables, liver contains vitamin A in non-beta-carotene form, which in excessive amounts can cause birth defects, so liver intake should be minimal.

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