Maternity Photography Vancouver – Foods to avoid during pregnancy

Now that you’re eating for two, you’re probably focused on choosing wholesome foods that’ll help you feel your best and support your growing baby. There are a few foods to avoid during your pregnancy as they can contain bacteria that might harm the baby, so stay on the safe side and don’t eat them while pregnant.

Foods to avoid

So what should you not be consuming these days? Maybe hold off on the following foods and drinks until your baby is born.

Alcohol

There are great mocktails out there for you to toast with or enjoy. Alcohol goes into the baby’s blood stream as well and is best to be avoided.

Unpasteurized dairy

Soft cheeses made with unpasteurized milk are are best to be avoided as they can harbor Listeria.

To stay safe, stick with hard cheeses like Swiss or cheddar, or check a cheese’s label to confirm it’s made with pasteurized milk. Have a hankering for feta, Brie, Camembert, goat cheese, blue-veined cheeses and queso fresco? Confirm that they’re made with pasteurized products first, or heat them up until bubbly.

Caffein

While a couple of small cups of coffee a day are fine throughout your pregnancy, you should aim for no more than 200 mg of caffeine a day. 

Also pay attention to other sources of caffeine such as chocolate, black / green tea, energy bars and yogurts to ensure you don’t go over the daily limit.

Raw or underdone seafood/meat

Before you visit your favourite local sushi restaurant, keep in mind that uncooked seafood is off-limits during pregnancy. The risk of ingesting bacteria and parasites along with your meal is too high. Same for meat, stay clear of rare steak, as undercooked meat can harbor bacteria as well. 

Raw or undercooked eggs

Try and avoid soft scrambled eggs, homemade ice cream or mousse, raw batter or cookie dough, homemade mayonnaise, tiramisu and homemade eggnog. I know this is a hard one!

High-mercury fish

Avoid shark, swordfish, king mackerel, tilefish from the Gulf of Mexico, orange roughy and bigeye tuna — they’re the highest in mercury. 

What’s the safest seafood during your pregnancy? Wild salmon, pollack, skipjack tuna, cod, freshwater trout, sole, tilapia, shrimp, sardines, anchovies and scallops. 

Raw sprouts

Raw sprouts have been linked to E. coli and Salmonella, so they definitely belong to the “better-safe-than-sorry” of foods to avoid category.

I am a Vancouver Maternity and Pregnancy Photographer and happy to answer any questions you might have about the session experience! Let’s chat!