You can pass listeriosis to your baby while you're pregnant, too. This can cause problems such as miscarriage , stillbirth , premature birth , low birth weight, and life-threatening infections like bacteremia bacteria in the blood and meningitis.
This is a microscopic parasite that causes an infection called toxoplasmosis. Most people don't notice when they have it, but if you get infected during pregnancy, the illness can be severe, causing miscarriage, stillbirth, long-term neurological damage, or other devastating effects.
These bacteria are more likely to cause serious illness when you're pregnant. In rare cases, the high fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and dehydration that can result could cause preterm labor or even a miscarriage. It's best not to eat deli or lunch meats while you're pregnant, unless the food has been heated until steaming degrees F right before serving.
These meats can harbor bacteria, which can continue to grow even when refrigerated. You can slow the growth of bacteria in these meats by keeping the temperature in your fridge at 40 degrees F or colder. But to kill the bacteria, you'll still need to heat the food until steaming before you eat it. Eating canned or shelf-stable foods is safe, like canned chicken or ham or shelf-stable smoked seafood. Like deli meats, hot dogs and bacon can harbor listeria and other pathogens.
Heat these meats until they're steaming hot or degrees F before eating. Once the package is open, toss it after a week in the refrigerator. Another concern with these and other processed meats is the presence of preservatives called nitrates and nitrites.
Frequent consumption of meats containing these chemicals is tied to an increased risk of cancer. Research also suggests that eating food containing nitrates could increase the risk of preterm birth in women who also take a type of drug called nitrosatable drugs during pregnancy.
Lastly, hot dogs and bacon are packed with sodium and saturated fat, which are important to eat in moderation. Eating an occasional serving of char-grilled or blackened food is probably safe, and there's no particular risk for pregnant women.
But don't overdo it. Studies show that people who eat a lot of well-done or blackened meat or fish tend to have higher rates of certain cancers. When animal proteins are grilled or pan-fried over an open flame, they produce cancer-causing chemicals called heterocyclic amines HCAs.
And when the juices drip into the fire and produce flames, it creates another type of cancer-causing chemical, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons PAHs , which then adhere to the surface of the food. The amount of antibiotic that gets to your baby when you eat meat is extremely small, so it's unlikely your child would be harmed that way.
But antibiotic-laced meat or poultry could contain antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which has been shown to develop in animals treated routinely with antibiotics. If this meat isn't handled or cooked properly, you could contract an antibiotic-resistant infection from the meat. These infections can cause severe illness or death. Most livestock in the United States are treated with antibiotics. Only meat and poultry labeled organic or "no antibiotics added" comes from livestock raised without these drugs.
To avoid getting sick from antibiotic-laden meat or any meat , always follow food safety guidelines. BabyCenter's editorial team is committed to providing the most helpful and trustworthy pregnancy and parenting information in the world. When creating and updating content, we rely on credible sources: respected health organizations, professional groups of doctors and other experts, and published studies in peer-reviewed journals.
We believe you should always know the source of the information you're seeing. However, pregnant women, whose immune systems are to some degree compromised, are many folds more likely and susceptible to getting listeria than non-pregnant people and the complications for the mother and developing baby can be very serious and devastating, including miscarriage, poor fetal growth, preterm labor and birth, stillbirth and infected mothers and babies," said Rad.
Mothers can get seriously sick, too, explained Rad, as listeria can cause fevers, diarrhea and blood stream infections. When heating these meat products in the microwave, verify that the products reach this temperature throughout," explained Rad.
Aly Walansky is a New York City-based food and lifestyle writer with nearly two decades of writing experience for various digital publications. She's focused on the latest in dining trends and budget meal-planning tips. Cold, cooked prawns mixed with commercial, pasteurized mayo in a sandwich is safe to eat in pregnancy.
Smoked salmon may not be safe in pregnancy and should be avoided. You might like to read this other article I wrote, all about smoked salmon and pregnancy.
See our dedicated article for more info. This refers to any paste, spread or pate found in the refrigerated section of a supermarket, for example:. However, always check the label as sometimes the meat is only sterilized and NOT pasteurized. Veggie or salad-based are always healthier sandwich options, but these should be prepared yourself , to ensure that the veg is prepped, peeled and washed thoroughly.
This avoids any potential contamination with listeria or toxoplasmosis, both of which live in soil where fresh produce grows. When prepping sandwiches at home, ensure the veggies and salad are washed thoroughly and avoid pre-bagged or ready-made salad, as this carries a small but significant risk of being contaminated with listeria.
Alternatively, roast the veggies — this makes then both pregnancy-safe, and delicious! Sandwiches containing mayonnaise such as chicken mayo, tuna mayo and so on can be eaten if the mayonnaise is pasteurized. Commercially-made sandwich mayo filling is usually safe for pregnant women to eat. Exercise more caution if eating at a restaurant or deli as the mayonnaise may contain raw eggs. Cheese sandwiches including grilled cheese sandwiches should be made with pasteurized or hard cheese like cheddar , gouda or swiss.
Do not eat sandwiches containing soft cheeses like brie , since soft, mold-ripened cheeses are more likely to be affected by listeria contamination.
Egg sandwiches or sandwiches containing egg as an additional ingredient should contain hard-boiled eggs only , not any soft or runny yolks due to the risk of salmonella. The same caution should be applied to mayonnaise, which should be a commercially-made, pasteurized brand if using mayo in the egg sandwich. Some ideas on what to make at home are:.
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