Food Safety During Pregnancy

Certain types of foods, including soft cheese, can carry the listeria monocyotogenes bacterium—a bacterium that can cause a serious infection known as listeriosis in humans. If you happen to develop this infection while you're pregnant, you could end up experiencing a range of very serious complications, including miscarriage, stillbirth and premature labor. Or your baby could be born with pneumonia, septicemia or meningitis.

Here's a list of foods that you'll need to avoid until after your baby arrives:

• Hot dogs and luncheon meats (unless they have been reheated until they are steaming hot).
• Soft cheese such as feta, brie, Camembert, blue-veined cheeses and Mexican-style cheeses such as queso blanco fresco. (Hard cheeses, semi-soft cheese such as mozzarella, pasteurized cheeses such as cheese slices and spreads, cream cheese and cottage cheese are all perfectly safe to eat during pregnancy, by the way.)
• Smoked seafood (unless it is served as part of a cooked entrée).
• Unpasteurized milk and foods that contain unpasteurized milk.