{"id":58669,"date":"2016-03-09T15:00:09","date_gmt":"2016-03-09T05:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.booktopia.com.au\/?p=58669"},"modified":"2016-04-14T18:09:15","modified_gmt":"2016-04-14T07:09:15","slug":"dummies-foods-avoid-pregnancy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/2016\/03\/09\/dummies-foods-avoid-pregnancy\/","title":{"rendered":"Foods to Avoid During Pregnancy"},"content":{"rendered":"

March at Booktopia is For Dummies<\/em> month! To celebrate, we’ve invited some of our favourite For Dummies<\/em> authors to write about what they’re most passionate about; what they specialise in. This week we have Jane Palmer, author of Pregnancy For Dummies<\/a>, <\/em>sharing her knowledge about what foods to avoid during pregnancy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

To add to the excitement surrounding For Dummies<\/em> month, we’re giving Booktopians the chance to win a For Dummies<\/em> prize pack. Just order any title from our For Dummies<\/em> Collection<\/a> to enter! (T&Cs apply)
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Jane Palmer<\/h1>\n

(Private Practice Midwife, Director of Pregnancy Birth and Beyond)<\/h2>\n

\"janeThrough the ages, women have received all kinds of advice about what and how much to eat while they\u2019re expecting. Cultural traditions, religious beliefs and even scientific thinking have all had their influences. As recently as a generation ago, women were told to limit how much they ate and drank and thus keep their weight gain to a minimum, while at other times, they were encouraged to eat lots of fatty foods \u2014 the idea being, the greater the weight gain, the healthier the child. With so much conflicting information around, finding out what to eat and what not to eat can be a challenge.<\/p>\n

So what food should you avoid in pregnancy? Some foods carry a higher risk of containing Listeria<\/em>, a bacterium found in nature that can live in some foods. \u00a0Listeria<\/em> bacteria can cause mild flu-like symptoms or even serious illness, particularly in people whose immune systems don\u2019t function properly. In pregnancy, if a woman becomes infected, the Listeria<\/em> bacteria can cross the placenta and infect the baby. Listeria<\/em> during pregnancy has been known to cause miscarriage, premature rupture of membranes, premature labour, stillbirth and serious illness in the baby. Listeria<\/em> infections are actually quite rare, but, because of the potential seriousness of Listeria<\/em> infection during pregnancy, information is made available to enable you to make safe choices of what foods to eat and what foods to avoid.<\/p>\n

\"DummiesMonth_CategoryTile-170x485px\"<\/a>Cooking food is the best way to destroy Listeria<\/em>. Make sure the food you eat is cooked right through – no rare meats or runny eggs – and ensure that the food is steaming hot right through to the centre; this is particularly important if you use a microwave to reheat food. Food under warming lights in takeaway stores is not recommended, so only eat takeaway food that is freshly prepared and cooked. If you eat out, be really sure about the freshness and hygiene of the place preparing the food. Avoid smorgasbords if possible, and if you can\u2019t, avoid the salad bar and eat the hot food only.<\/p>\n

Listeria<\/em> is one of the few bacteria that can live in the refrigerator. The key here is to store your leftovers in the fridge for no longer than a day (you can use freezing as an alternative). When storing cooked food in the refrigerator, don\u2019t leave it on the bench to cool, instead, after the food has stopped steaming place it straight in the fridge, away from already chilled foods. Store your cooked food separately from your raw food and cover all stored foods, making sure that one can\u2019t drip onto the other. Finally, ensure your refrigerator operates below 5 degrees Celsius and keep it clean.<\/p>\n

Good food hygiene is an important step to help avoid a Listeria<\/em> infection. Be sure to wash your hands before preparing any food, wash all cooking utensils in hot soapy water and thoroughly wash all raw fruit and vegetables. See Food Standards Australia New Zealand\u2019s website for further information: www.foodstandards.gov.au<\/a><\/p>\n

The following is a list of foods that are considered to be at a higher risk of Listeria<\/em> contamination. It is advised you avoid these foods in pregnancy:<\/p>\n