You do not need to eat perfectly to have a healthy pregnancy. But there are some foods that carry real risks during pregnancy and knowing which ones they are, and why, means you can make simple swaps that protect your baby without turning every meal into a stressful decision.

Avoid: Brie, camembert, soft blue cheeses like gorgonzola and roquefort, and any cheese made from unpasteurised milk.

Why: These soft cheeses can carry Listeria — a bacteria that thrives in cold, moist environments and can survive even in a refrigerator. Listeria in pregnancy can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, or serious newborn illness.

What you can eat instead: Hard cheeses like cheddar, parmesan, and edam are completely safe — even if they are made from unpasteurised milk, because the low moisture in hard cheese prevents Listeria from growing. Soft cheeses are also safe when thoroughly cooked — so baked brie or feta in a hot dish is fine.

The rule to remember: If the cheese is soft and could have been made from unpasteurised milk — avoid it. If it is hard, or if it has been thoroughly cooked until steaming — it is safe.

Avoid: Rare or medium-rare steak, pink lamb, raw burgers, raw sausages, carpaccio, steak tartare, and any meat that is not cooked all the way through.

Why: Undercooked meat can carry Toxoplasma — a parasite that can cross the placenta and affect your baby's brain and eyes. It can also carry Salmonella and E. coli, which cause severe food poisoning that is much harder to recover from during pregnancy.

What you can eat instead: Meat cooked thoroughly until there is no pink remaining and the juices run clear. Well-done burgers, fully cooked steaks, and properly cooked chicken are all completely safe and delicious.

 The rule to remember: Cook all meat until there is no pink in the middle and the juices run completely clear. Use a food thermometer if you are not sure — 75°C in the centre kills harmful bacteria and parasites.

Avoid: Pre-sliced ham, salami, pepperoni, chorizo, mortadella, and any ready-to-eat processed or cured meats that are eaten cold.

Why: These meats are processed at temperatures that may not kill Listeria — and Listeria can continue to multiply even in cold storage. Cured meats like salami and pepperoni are fermented rather than fully cooked, which does not eliminate the risk.

What you can eat instead: These meats are safe when heated until steaming — so a hot pizza with pepperoni, or a toasted sandwich with heated ham, is completely fine. The heat kills the bacteria.

The rule to remember: Cold deli meats — no. Heated until steaming hot — yes.

Avoid: Sushi and sashimi made with raw fish, raw oysters, raw clams, raw mussels, ceviche, and smoked salmon or smoked fish that is eaten cold and ready-to-eat.

Why: Raw fish can carry Listeria, Salmonella, and parasites. Raw shellfish — particularly oysters — are a very high risk for bacterial infection. Cold smoked fish like smoked salmon is not cooked during the smoking process and can carry Listeria.

What you can eat instead: Cooked fish and seafood is safe and highly recommended in pregnancy — it is one of the best sources of protein and omega-3 fatty acids your baby needs. Cooked sushi — like prawn tempura, vegetable rolls, or rolls with cooked crab — is safe. Tinned salmon and tinned tuna are also safe.

 The rule to remember: Cooked fish — yes and encouraged. Raw fish and cold smoked fish — no.

Avoid completely: Shark, swordfish, king mackerel, tilefish, and marlin.

Limit to once a week: Fresh tuna steaks (limit to one portion per week). Tinned tuna is lower in mercury and can be eaten up to 4 tins per week.

Why: These large predatory fish accumulate high levels of mercury in their flesh over their long lifetimes. Mercury is a heavy metal that crosses the placenta and can affect your baby's developing brain and nervous system — potentially affecting their learning, memory, and coordination.

What you can eat instead: Salmon, sardines, trout, cod, haddock, and prawns are all low in mercury and high in the omega-3 fatty acids your baby's brain needs. You can eat these two to three times a week throughout your pregnancy.

The rule to remember: Small fish — safe and healthy. Large predatory fish — avoid. Oily fish like salmon — eat regularly.

Avoid: Runny fried eggs, soft boiled eggs where the yolk is not set, raw eggs in homemade mayonnaise, homemade mousse, homemade hollandaise sauce, homemade tiramisu, and homemade eggnog.

Why: Raw and undercooked eggs can carry Salmonella, which causes severe food poisoning. Salmonella in pregnancy is not just very unpleasant — it can cause dehydration and fever that puts the pregnancy at risk.

What you can eat instead: Eggs cooked until both the yolk and white are fully set are completely safe and a wonderful source of protein and nutrients in pregnancy. Shop-bought mayonnaise, shop-bought mousse, and pasteurised egg products are all safe because they are made with pasteurised eggs.

The rule to remember: Eggs cooked all the way through — yes. Runny yolks and raw egg dishes — no. Shop-bought products made with pasteurised eggs — safe.

Avoid: Eating fruits, vegetables, and salad leaves that have not been washed.

Why: Soil on unwashed produce can carry Toxoplasma and Listeria. Pre-washed bagged salads can also carry bacteria if they have been sitting for a long time after the bag is opened.

What you can do: Wash all fruits and vegetables under running water before eating them — even if the packaging says pre-washed. Peel fruit where possible. Eat fresh salads rather than salads that have been sitting opened in the fridge for days.

 The rule to remember: Wash everything. Always. It takes ten seconds and eliminates a real risk.

Avoid: All types of pâté — meat pâté, fish pâté, and vegetable pâté.

Why: All pâtés — including vegetable ones — can carry Listeria. They are not cooked at high enough temperatures to kill all bacteria and are eaten cold, giving any Listeria present the chance to multiply.

What you can eat instead: Hummus, cream cheese spreads, nut butters, and avocado are all wonderful safe alternatives for spreading on toast or crackers.

Avoid: Ice cream dispensed from a soft-serve machine — the kind found at fast food restaurants, ice cream parlours, and events.

Why: The machines used to dispense soft-serve ice cream can harbour Listeria in the nozzle and internal parts, which are difficult to clean completely. The cold temperature does not kill Listeria — it actually allows it to survive and multiply.

What you can eat instead: Tub ice cream from the supermarket — the kind you scoop yourself — is completely safe. Enjoy it freely.

Avoid: All alcohol — wine, beer, spirits, cocktails, mocktails with alcohol, and even foods cooked with large amounts of alcohol that has not fully cooked off.

Why: Alcohol crosses the placenta directly and enters your baby's bloodstream. Your baby cannot process alcohol the way your body can. Alcohol exposure in pregnancy can cause Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders — a range of lifelong physical, learning, and behavioural difficulties that are entirely preventable. There is no amount of alcohol that has been proven safe during any stage of pregnancy.

This is the most important food rule in this entire article. Not because we want to make pregnancy joyless — but because the evidence on alcohol and fetal development is clear and consistent. No alcohol. For the whole pregnancy. Your baby cannot metabolise what you drink.

Limit to: No more than 200mg of caffeine per day throughout pregnancy.

Why: High caffeine intake in pregnancy has been associated with low birth weight and, in very high amounts, with miscarriage. 200mg is considered the safe upper limit by most major health organisations.

What does 200mg look like?

So — one or two cups of tea a day is completely fine. One coffee a day is within the limit. Two strong coffees a day is too much. Energy drinks should be avoided entirely in pregnancy — they contain very high caffeine plus other stimulants that are not recommended in pregnancy.

 The rule to remember: You do not need to give up caffeine entirely — just keep it under 200mg a day. One or two cups of tea or one coffee. That is completely safe.

Use with caution: Many herbal teas have not been tested for safety in pregnancy. Some herbs — including high doses of ginger, liquorice root, raspberry leaf (before 37 weeks), sage, parsley tea, and pennyroyal — can stimulate the uterus or cause other effects in pregnancy.

Safe in moderation: Ginger tea in small amounts (up to 1g of ginger per day) is widely considered safe and may help with nausea. Peppermint tea in small amounts is generally considered safe.

The safest approach: Stick to regular tea with milk, limit it to within your daily caffeine allowance, and if you want herbal tea — ask your OB or pharmacist about the specific herb before drinking it regularly.

Avoid: Liver, liver pâté, liver sausage, and any supplement containing Vitamin A as retinol.

Why: Liver is extremely high in Vitamin A — specifically in a form called retinol. Too much retinol during pregnancy can cause birth defects. This is the one nutrient where having too much is just as dangerous as having too little.

Note: Beta-carotene — the form of Vitamin A found in orange and yellow vegetables like carrots and sweet potatoes — is completely safe in pregnancy. Your body only converts as much as it needs. It is the retinol form (from animal liver and certain supplements) that is the concern.

 Check your prenatal vitamins. Make sure they contain beta-carotene rather than retinol for Vitamin A. Most quality prenatal supplements are formulated this way — but always check the label.

Cheddar, parmesan, gouda, edam, manchego, halloumi, and all other hard cheeses are completely safe in pregnancy — even if made with unpasteurised milk. The low moisture content prevents Listeria from growing. Eat them freely.

Baked brie, grilled halloumi, cooked feta in a dish, cooked mozzarella on pizza — all safe. Heat destroys Listeria. If it is cooked until steaming hot, it is safe.

Sushi with cooked fillings — prawn tempura, cooked crab, cooked salmon, cucumber rolls, avocado rolls — is completely safe. The concern is only with raw fish fillings.

Spicy food does not harm your baby. It may make heartburn worse — which is already very common in pregnancy — but it is not dangerous. If spicy food gives you heartburn, reduce it for your own comfort, not for safety reasons.

The idea that pineapple causes miscarriage is a myth. You would need to eat an extremely large and unrealistic quantity of raw, unripe pineapple core to consume enough of the enzyme bromelain to potentially affect the uterus. Normal amounts of pineapple — fresh, canned, or in food — are completely safe.

Ripe papaya is safe in pregnancy. Unripe or semi-ripe papaya — the kind used in some salads — contains high levels of latex and papain which may stimulate contractions. Ripe papaya — soft and sweet — is fine and nutritious.

Coconut water is safe in pregnancy. It is a good source of electrolytes and hydration. Enjoy it freely.

Hard boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, fully cooked fried eggs, baked eggs — all completely safe and a wonderful source of protein, choline, and healthy fats for your baby's brain. The only restriction is on runny or raw eggs.

Your fridge should be at or below 5°C. Listeria thrives in fridges that are too warm. Keep a fridge thermometer if you are not sure.

Meat should reach 75°C in the centre. Poultry should be cooked until the juices run completely clear. Eggs should be cooked until both the yolk and white are fully set. Leftovers should be reheated until steaming hot all the way through.

Keep raw meat on the bottom shelf of the fridge — away from ready-to-eat foods. Use separate chopping boards for raw meat and vegetables. Refrigerate leftovers within two hours of cooking and use within two days.

Before preparing food. After handling raw meat or fish. After touching your phone, the door handle, or anything else mid-cooking. This one habit prevents more foodborne illness than anything else.

Do not eat food past its use-by date — even if it smells and looks fine. Listeria in particular has no smell, no taste, and no visible sign. Trust the date.