Listeria
Listeriosis is a rare, flu-like illness, which can be contracted from certain foods containing the listeria germ. Although rare in this country, listeriosis can cause stillbirth, miscarriage, or severe illness in newborn babies.
Remember to avoid the following:
 soft and blue veined cheese, such as Camembert, Brie and Stilton. (There is no risk of listeria associated with hard cheese such as Cheddar, cottage cheese and processed cheese),
pâté (any type, including vegetable),
certain prepared salads such as potato salad and coleslaw, and
ready-prepared meals or re-heated food, unless they are piping hot all the way through.
Salmonella
Salmonella is a type of bacterial food poisoning found in unpasteurised milk, raw eggs/raw egg products, raw poultry and raw meat. Although it is unlikely to harm your baby, it is advisable to treat salmonella with caution.
The following steps will reduce your risk of getting salmonella:
Avoid food containing raw or partially cooked eggs, such as homemade mayonnaise, and some mousses and sauces. Eggs should only be eaten if they are cooked until both the white and the yolk are solid.
Avoid unpasteurised dairy products.
Take care with food that contains meat at barbeques, parties and buffets. Bacteria breed quickly on food that is left uncovered in a warm environment.
Make sure raw meat does not come into contact with other food (i.e. in the fridge). This is particularly important for food that is already cooked or that will be eaten raw.
Cook all meat and poultry thoroughly, and take particular care with sausages and minced meat.
Always wash your hands after handling raw meat.
Toxoplasmosis
Toxoplasmosis is another type of infection caused by a parasite found in cat faeces. It can also be present in raw or undercooked meat, and in the soil on unwashed fruit and vegetables. Although rare, the infection can occasionally be passed to the unborn baby, which can cause serious problems.
Pregnant women are therefore advised to avoid the following:
unwashed raw fruit and vegetables,
raw or undercooked meat, and
unpasteurised goat 's milk or goat 's cheese.
To avoid contact with soil or faeces that might contain the toxoplasmosis parasite, its important to wear gloves if you are gardening or changing a cat litter tray.
Vitamin A
If youre pregnant you should make sure you dont have too much vitamin A. Although you need some vitamin A in your diet, having too much could mean that levels build up in your body and harm your unborn baby.
Eating a normal, well-balanced diet should give you all the vitamin A your body needs. Avoid liver or liver products such as pâté, as liver contains high levels of vitamin A. You should also check with your doctor before taking any high-dose multivitamins or cod liver oil supplements, as these may also contain vitamin A.
Fish
Oily fish is good for your health but we need to limit the amount that we eat because it contains pollutants, such as dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). If you're pregnant, you should eat no more than two portions of oily fish a week. Oily fish includes fresh tuna (not canned tuna, which doesn't count as oily fish), mackerel, sardines and trout.
There are a few types of fish that you should avoid eating while pregnant, and some others that you should limit the amount you eat. Limit the amount of tuna you eat because it contains a high level of mercury which can have a damaging effect on your baby's developing nervous system. You shouldn't eat more than one tuna steak, or four medium-sized tins (about 140g per can) of tuna a week. This works out at about six rounds of tuna sandwiches or three tuna salads.
Avoid eating shark, swordfish and marlin as these fish also contain a high level of mercury. You should also avoid eating raw shellfish when you're pregnant. This will reduce your chances of getting food poisoning which can be particularly unpleasant when you're pregnant.
Alcohol
The Department of Health advises that pregnant women, and women who are trying to conceive, should avoid drinking alcohol. Heavy drinking, during pregnancy, is associated with low birth weight, and other, more serious birth defects. However, if you do decide to drink alcohol while you are pregnant, you should limit the amount that you drink. The Department of Health and The Royal College of Gynaecologists advise that pregnant women should not to drink more than 1-2 units of alcohol once or twice a week. Binge drinking (drinking several units of alcohol in one session) should be avoided.
Caffeine
You should limit the amount of caffeine you have each day. Caffeine affects the way your body absorbs iron, which is very important for your babys development. High levels of caffeine can result in a baby having a low birth weight, or even miscarriage.
Caffeine occurs naturally in a range of foods, such as coffee, tea and chocolate, and it's also added to some soft drinks and 'energy' drinks. It's important not to have more than 300mg of caffeine a day. 300mg is roughly equivalent to either:
3 mugs of instant coffee,
3 cups of brewed coffee,
six cups of tea,
eight cans of regular cola,
or eight standard bars of chocolate.
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