A recent survey has found that most pregnant women are unsure as to what to what they should  ear and drink  during their term and that, despite recommendation to cut out alcohol entirely, many mothers –to-be continue to drink alcohol throughout the nine months. Food which caused particular confusion over whether they were safe to eat or not were cheese, shellfish eggs, tuna and nuts.

    Guidelines

Alcohol: pregnant women should avoid drinking alcohol. If women do choose to drink, they should have no more than 1or 2 units of alcohol, once or twice a week and definitely shouldn’t get drunk.   

                                                                                                                                                        

 

Caffeine: Drinking a lot of caffeine may also have negative effect on the baby health. The food standard Agency. {FSA} recommends having no more than 300mg per day, which is equivalent to three cups of instant coffee or six cups of tea.                                                                                 

 

Cheese: pregnant women are advised to avoid eating soft cheeses such as Brie, camembert and blue-veined types, as they increase the risk of listeriosisaccording to the FSA. You can enjoy hard cheeses such as cheddar and Cheshire. Cottage cheese, processed cheese and cheese spreads can all be safely eaten during pregnancy,                                                      

 

Shellfish: you should avoid oysters and other shellfish while you’re pregnant, unless they have been thoroughly cooked, when raw, these types of seafood might be contaminated with harmful bacteria and viruses, such as salmonella, campylobacter and occasionally listeria.            

 

Tuna: You can eat most types of fish when you’re pregnant. But you should avoid shark, swordfish or marlin. You should also limit the amount of tuna you eat to no more than two tuna steaks or four medium-size cans of tune a week. This is because they contain higher levels of mercury which could affect the baby’s nervous system. You should also limit oily fish to a maximum of twice a week.                                                                                                              

 

Nuts: Pregnant mothers may choose to avoid peanuts if they, the baby’s father, brothers or sisters have certain allergic conditions such as hayfever or eczema. This is because the baby may have a higher rick of developing a nut allergy.                                                                                                                 

 

Eggs: Undercooked or raw eggs should be avoided. When cooking eggs they need to be cooked enough for both the white and the yolk to be solid. This is to avoid the risk of salmonella.