Food or substance that pregnant moms need to avoid or limit
Living a healthy lifestyle protect the health of the pregnant moms and the developing foetuses. Pregnant moms should get away from the following habits or practices.
- Quit smoking
Cigarette smoking increases the chance of stillbirth, preterm labour and low birth weight. Second-hand smoking increases the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), pneumonia, bronchitis and asthma in young children. There are many smoking cessation programs available to help you quit smoking. Ask your doctor and nurse for more information about these programmes. Family members of pregnant moms should consider quit-smoking.
- Avoid alcoholic beverage (including beer, wine and liquor)
Alcohol harms the developing foetus. Drinking increases the chances of miscarriage and still-birth. It raises the risk of the child having a lower birth weight, birth defects, growth and developmental problems. Pregnant moms should avoid all kinds of alcoholic beverage regardless of the alcohol content.
- Avoid fish that contains high levels of methylmercury
At high levels, methylmercury can damage the developing nervous system and brain of foetuses, infants and young children. Pregnant moms should avoid eating fish with high levels of methylmercury includes shark (and its products, like shark fins), swordfish, marlin, king mackerel, bluefin tuna, bigeye tuna, albacore tuna, yellowfin tuna, splendid alfonsino, orange roughy, yellowback seabream and dash-and-dot goatfish, etc.
- Avoid raw and undercooked seafood, meat and eggs
Pregnant moms should have all food cooked thoroughly to avoid food poisoning. Ensure blood is not visible or juice is not red when the meat is cut. Egg yolks should be firm, not runny. Cook or reheat food to at least 75℃ for at least 30 seconds.
- Avoid ready-to-eat refrigerated foods
Chilled ready-to-eat and refrigerated foods could be easily contaminated by listeria bacteria. Listeria infection during pregnancy may result in miscarriage, early death of the infant, preterm labour, severe health problems in newborn babies. During pregnancy, avoid raw oysters, sashimi or sushi with raw seafoods, smoked salmon or other seafoods, pates, deli meat like ham, turkey slices or salami (from supermarkets or salad bars), soft ice-cream, soft cheese (like feta, brie, camembert and blue cheese) and unpasteurized milk (and foods made from it).
- Limit caffeine containing foods or drinks
Too much caffeine may increase the risk of low birth weight and miscarriage. Caffeine level of some brewed coffee and Hong Kong-style milk tea in local restaurants is high. Pregnant moms may get too much caffeine by drinking a cup. During pregnancy, it is advisable to limit your consumption of coffee and strong tea or switch to the decaffeinated options. Besides, you should also limit caffeine containing soft drinks, energy drinks and the amount of chocolate.