When it comes to food and drink you’re allowed to have when you’re pregnant, there are a few things everyone knows: puffin’ and boozin’ is a no-go. But once you get into the weeds of pregnancy food and drink, you might find some surprises. We’re here to give you a full guide to what food and drink you can and can’t enjoy when you’re pregnant. 

While this is the official advice, your own diet when pregnant is a personal choice. We trust you to use your common sense accordingly. If you’re ever worried, be sure to speak to your midwife. 

Cheeses that ARE safe to eat while pregnant:

• All hard cheese (like cheddar, gruyere, red leicester or parmesan.)

• Pasteurised semi-hard cheeses (like edam, gouda, emmental or provolone.)

• Pasteurised soft cheeses (like cottage cheese, cream cheese, halloumi, mozzarella, paneer, rindless goats’ cheese… Pretty much all the best cheese are in this camp, and they’re all good!)

• Soft or blue cheese that has been cooked until steaming hot.

Cheeses that are NOT safe to eat while pregnant:

• Any food made from unpasteurised milk, like soft ripened goats’ cheese (but regular goats’ cheese without the rind is fine.)

• Any mould-ripened soft cheese with rind (like brie and camembert - unless cooked until steaming hot.)

• Any cold or room-temperature soft blue cheese (like danish blue, gorgonzola or roquefort.)

Why can’t I have certain cheeses when I’m pregnant?

As always, we trust you as a fully autonomous adult to make your own decisions. If you want to eat some unpasteurised dairy, you go for it. But it’s always good to be fully armed with the facts before making a decision.

There’s an eeny weeny chance that the unpasteurised or soft ripened cheese you’re about to scoff contain Listeria bacteria - which can then cause a very rare infection called listeriosis. There’s a chance that listeriosis can lead to a miscarriage, stillbirth or make your baby quite unwell when it arrives. The rind on soft cheeses have lots of moisture in it, which the bacteria loves, and makes it easy for it to grow. 

However! Cooking cheese until it’s steaming kills bacteria, which reduces the chance of listeriosis, and means you can chow down in peace. 

Dairy that you CAN eat while pregnant: 

• Pasteurised milk.

• Pasteurised yoghurt.

• Pasteurised cream.

• Pasteurised ice cream.

Dairy that you CAN’T eat while pregnant:

• Unpasteurised cows’ milk.

• Unpasteurised goats’ milk.

• Unpasteurised sheep’s milk.

• Unpasteurised cream.

Why can’t I have unpasteurised dairy when I’m pregnant?

Unpasteurised dairy can be a little risky when you’re pregnant for the same reason unpasteurised cheese is risk - because of Listeria (and, by extension, listeriosis.) 

Egg products that you CAN eat while pregnant:

• Raw, partially cooked and fully cooked British Lion hen eggs (aka the ones that have the lion stamp on them) and hen eggs produced under the Laid in Britain scheme.

• Shop-bought egg-based products, like mousse, aioli or mayonnaise. 

• Well-cooked eggs of all other varieties (like duck, goose or quail eggs and eggs that aren’t British Lion/Laid in Britain hen eggs.)

Egg products that you CAN’T eat while pregnant:

• Raw or partially cooked hen eggs that are not British Lion or produced under the Laid in Britain scheme.

• Raw or partially cooked duck, goose or quail eggs.

• Homemade mousse, aioli or mayonnaise that isn’t made with British Lion/Laid in Britain eggs.

Why can’t I have certain egg products when I’m pregnant?

The extra-safe British Lion hen eggs and eggs produced under the Laid in Britain scheme are much, much, much less likely to have Salmonella lurking in them. 

While Salmonella is unlikely to harm your unborn baby, it could give you food poisoning. Which is just unpleasant, isn’t it? 

So long as you cook all your eggs all the way through, you’re all good. Or, if you like a particularly runny yolk, stick with British Lion/Laid in Britain eggs. 

Meat and poultry you CAN eat while pregnant:

• Most meat (like chicken, pork or beef) so long as it’s cooked through with no trace of pink. Be especially careful with chicken, sausages and burgers. 

• Cold, pre-packaged meats like ham and corned beef. 

• Cured meats that have been thoroughly cooked (like pepperoni on pizza or a chorizo paella.)

Meat you should be careful with while pregnant:

• Cold-cured meats (like salami, pepperoni, chorizo and prosciutto. Basically meat that you’d find on a charcuterie board.) 

Meat and poultry you CAN’T eat while pregnant: 

• Raw or undercooked meat.

• Liver and liver products.

• All types of pâte (including vegetarian pâte.)

• Game meats (like goose, partridge or pheasant.)

Why can’t I have certain meats when I’m pregnant?

There are a few potential problems with the above meat products when you’re pregnant. Again, we’ll point at the sign: Your diet is your business. We want you to make informed choices for yourself and nobody else. 

Raw/undercooked and cured meat has a very small chance of containing toxoplasmosis. Toxoplasmosis can cause a miscarriage.

Liver and liver products have uber amounts of vitamin A in them. Usually, vitamins are good! But babies don’t love vitamin A and too much of it can be harmful for them.

And, finally, game meats might contain lead shot. On account of them being, you know, shot. 

Fish that you CAN eat while pregnant:

• Cooked fish and seafood

• Sushi, if the fish has been cooked all the way through (or, if it’s veggie sushi!)

• Cooked shellfish (like mussels, lobster ((fancy!)) crab, prawns, scallops and clams.)

Fish that you should LIMIT your intake of: 

• No more than 2 portions of oily fish a week (like salmon, trout, mackerel or herring.)

• No more than 2 tuna steaks or 4 medium-size cans of tuna per week.

Fish that you CAN’T eat while pregnant:

• Swordfish.

• Marlin.

• Shark.

• Raw shellfish.

• Cold-smoked or cured fish (like smoked salmon or gravlax.)

Why can’t I have certain kinds of fish when I’m pregnant?

There are a few different reasons why having certain kinds of fish when you’re pregnant can be a little bit risky. (And we really must stress, the risks are very small.) 

Cold-smoked or cured fish have a tiny chance of carrying listeriosis (aka the reason why pasteurisation is your best friend.) However, cooking smoked or cured fish until it’s steaming hot will sort it out and ensure it’s 10000% safe. 

You should limit your tuna intake because it’s chocked full of mercury. That’s fine usually, but too much can give you mercury poisoning. That goes for when you’re not pregnant too, by the way!

It could be a good idea to limit your oily fish intake too because of the pollutants you might find in them - like dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (No, we don’t know what they are. But they don’t sound great.)

And, last of all, the NHS recommends avoiding raw shellfish because they can have harmful bacteria, viruses or toxins in them. (The whole sweep!) These could possibly give you food poisoning, which, again, would just be pretty rubbish. 

Fruits and vegetables you CAN eat while pregnant:

• Well-washed, fresh fruit/vegetables/herbs.

• Legumes.

• Nuts. (Unless you have an allergy, of course! Pregnancy is cool, but not rewire-your-allergies cool.)

Fruits and vegetables you CAN’T eat while pregnant:

• Unwashed fruit and vegetables.

• Raw sprouts.

• Rockmelon. (Aka cantaloupe, aka melon, aka the orange one.)

• Pre-packaged salads. (Unless you’ve given it a wash and it’s within its due date.)

Why can’t I have certain kinds of fruits and vegetables when I’m pregnant?

Unwashed things are bad for obvious reasons. We probably don’t need to spell that one out for you. And if we DO need to spell that out for you, we have one message and one message only: please don’t shovel dirt into your mouth. Bugs live there. It’s not great for your tum. 

Raw sprouts and melon can carry a small risk as they could have the stars of this article, salmonella and listeriosis, in them.

Drinks you CAN consume while pregnant:

You can have caffeine, but try to have less than 200mg per day. 

• Limited amounts of coffee.

• Limited amounts of tea.

• Limited amounts of soft drinks.

• Limited amounts of energy drinks.

• Water.

Drinks you CAN’T consume while pregnant:

• Alcohol 

• Unpasteurised juice

• Unpasteurised kombucha

• Drinks with artificial sweeteners, like diet soft drinks.