Pregnancy is a phase in a woman's life, when double care has to be taken in respect of food to be taken considering the woman as well as the unborn baby, which is deriving nutrition from the mother. Any wrong kind of food taken in this period can put the fetus in trouble. Therefore the food for the pregnant woman has to be highly nutritious and easy to digest. The requirement of food is now 1.5 times more than the normal women and it should be balanced with proteins, vitamins and minerals to meet the growth needs of the fetus.

Pregnancy is also a period during which woman undergoes changes in its immune system, and both the fetus and woman has more risk of suffering from food borne diseases a problem for the woman as well as for the fetus. The bacteria, virus and parasites are the cause of infection in food borne disease, which produce toxins harmful to the fetus.

Apparently Food Looks Normal:

There can be a situation that the woman is not feeling the trouble due to the food borne disease, but the presence of Listeria and Toxoplasma can cause infection to the fetus. Following Foods need to be avoided:

- There are certain fishes having high concentration of mercury in them, when it gets absorbed cause problem to the child.

- During the pregnancy, the woman is advised to make a checklist of foods not to be taken during pregnancy so as to keep the fetus safe and growing healthy till its birth.

- The pregnant mother needs to check that the food cooked has attained right temperature with the help of thermometer instead of relying on estimation.

- One has to observe complete care regarding what not to eat during pregnancy, in case one feels like eating see that the safety conditions have been fulfilled before eating.

Following are the foods not to be eaten, with the valid reason for not eating:

1. Soft Cheese prepared from un-pasteurized milk, which may contain E. Col and Listeria infections. Alternative eat hard cheese made from pasteurized milk like cheddar or Swiss cheese.

2. Raw Cookie Dough or Cake Batter suspected to contain Salmonella infection. Only baked cookies and cake should be eaten.

3. Fishes like Shark should not be eaten because of high mercury contents in it. Only shell fish should be eaten that too in restricted quantity, because still it contains mercury.

4. Raw or Under-Cooked Fish has bacteria as well parasites in it. It must be cooked at 145° F temperature. The temperature needs to be checked.

5. The Un-pasteurized Juices or cider which also includes freshly squeezed juice, because there is a possibility of E. coli infection. Preferably only pasteurized juice should be consumed. Un-pasteurized juice may be given a boiling and cooling it before consuming.

6. Un-pasteurized Milk, there is possibility of presence of bacteria like Campylobacter, Listeria, E. coli or Salmonella. Considering such a possibility only pasteurized milk should be consumed.

7. Salads commercially available in restaurants containing ham, chicken and seafood should not be taken to avoid getting Listeria infection. Salads made at home are good substitute.

8. Raw Shellfish like oysters and clams, which may be infected with Vibrio bacteria. It should be cooked at temperature of145° F.