Most foods you already eat are perfectly safe during pregnancy. The core of a healthy pregnancy diet is the same as any healthy diet: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and dairy. The adjustments are relatively small but important, mostly involving how food is prepared and a short list of items to skip entirely.
Building a Balanced Pregnancy Plate
Aim for five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day, spread across meals and snacks. That sounds like a lot, but a serving is roughly half a cup of cooked vegetables or one medium piece of fruit. Fresh, frozen, and canned (low-sodium) versions all count.
Include whole grains at every meal: whole wheat bread, oatmeal, brown rice, quinoa, barley, or whole grain pasta. For protein, good options include chicken, turkey, fish, eggs, beans, nuts, peanut butter, tofu, and low-fat dairy. A useful framework for each meal is to combine a protein source, a carbohydrate like fruit or whole grains, and a healthy fat like olive oil or nuts. This combination keeps blood sugar steady and helps your body absorb fat-soluble vitamins.
Which Fish Are Safe (and Which to Skip)
Fish is one of the best sources of omega-3 fatty acids and lean protein, and you don’t need to avoid it. The goal is two to three servings per week from lower-mercury options. Salmon, shrimp, tilapia, catfish, sardines, anchovies, pollock, trout, cod, clams, scallops, and squid are all good choices.
The fish to avoid entirely are the large, long-lived predators that accumulate the most mercury: swordfish, shark, king mackerel, tilefish from the Gulf of Mexico, bigeye tuna, marlin, and orange roughy. If someone in your household catches fish locally, check your state’s advisory before eating it. When no advisory exists, limit yourself to one serving of that catch per week and skip other fish for the rest of the week.
Dairy and Cheese
Pasteurized milk, yogurt, and hard cheeses like cheddar and Swiss are safe throughout pregnancy. The cheeses that cause confusion are the soft ones: brie, camembert, blue-veined varieties, and queso fresco. These are fine only when made with pasteurized milk. Check the label; if it says “pasteurized,” you’re good. Cottage cheese, cream cheese, feta, mozzarella, and string cheese made from pasteurized milk are all safe choices.
If you’re eating soft cheese at a restaurant or aren’t sure about the label, heating it until it’s steaming hot (165°F internally) kills the Listeria bacteria that pose a risk during pregnancy.
Eggs and How to Prepare Them
Eggs are a nutritional powerhouse during pregnancy, packed with protein, choline, and iron. The key rule is simple: cook them until both the yolk and white are firm. Scrambled eggs should not be runny. Casseroles or baked dishes containing eggs should reach an internal temperature of 160°F.
The trickier issue is foods that contain raw or undercooked eggs that you might not think about. Homemade Caesar salad dressing, homemade mayonnaise, raw cookie dough, homemade ice cream, and some hollandaise sauces can all contain raw egg. If a recipe calls for raw egg, use pasteurized eggs instead. These are sold in most grocery stores and will say “pasteurized” on the carton.
Deli Meats and Listeria
Cold deli meats, including turkey, ham, roast beef, and salami, can harbor Listeria, a bacteria that’s particularly dangerous during pregnancy because it can cross the placenta. Listeria is unusual among foodborne bacteria because it grows even at refrigerator temperatures.
The CDC recommends that pregnant women either avoid deli meat entirely or reheat it to 165°F (steaming hot) before eating. This applies to all pre-sliced meats from a deli counter and pre-packaged lunch meats. Hot dogs fall into the same category. If you heat them until they’re steaming, they’re safe.
Raw Sprouts and Fresh Produce
Raw sprouts of any kind, including alfalfa, clover, radish, and mung bean sprouts, should be avoided during pregnancy. Bacteria like Salmonella can get into sprout seeds before they even grow, which means washing won’t eliminate the risk. Cooking sprouts thoroughly does kill harmful bacteria, so they’re fine in a stir-fry or soup.
All other fruits and vegetables are safe, but washing matters more during pregnancy than usual. Raw produce can carry Toxoplasma, a parasite found in soil and contaminated water. Thoroughly wash or peel all fruits and vegetables before eating, even pre-bagged salad mixes. Pay extra attention to root vegetables and anything that grew close to the ground.
Liver and Vitamin A
Liver is nutrient-dense, but it contains extremely high concentrations of preformed vitamin A, which can cause birth defects in large amounts. The UK’s Committee on Toxicity recommends that pregnant women avoid liver and liver products like pâté entirely. This also applies to supplements containing vitamin A and fish liver oil (like cod liver oil). A standard prenatal vitamin with beta-carotene, which your body converts to vitamin A only as needed, is the safer alternative.
Caffeine
You don’t have to give up coffee. The World Health Organization recommends keeping daily caffeine intake under 300 mg to reduce the risk of pregnancy loss and low birth weight. That’s roughly two to three 8-ounce cups of brewed coffee, depending on the strength. Keep in mind that caffeine adds up from multiple sources: tea, chocolate, soft drinks, and energy drinks all contribute. If you’re a heavy coffee drinker, cutting back rather than quitting cold turkey is a reasonable approach.
Herbal Teas
Peppermint tea is one of the most commonly used herbal teas in pregnancy and is generally classified as safe, though excessive use in early pregnancy is discouraged. Ginger tea can help with nausea but should be consumed in limited amounts. Chamomile, despite its popularity, has been associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes in some research and is considered potentially unsafe. Red raspberry leaf tea falls into a “use with caution” category.
One important rule across all herbal products: avoid tinctures during pregnancy. These are alcohol-based extracts of herbs that contain highly concentrated compounds, and the alcohol itself is a concern. If you want herbal tea, stick to commercially prepared tea bags rather than concentrated supplements or extracts.
Quick Reference: Foods to Avoid
- High-mercury fish: swordfish, shark, king mackerel, tilefish, bigeye tuna, marlin, orange roughy
- Raw or undercooked meat and poultry
- Raw or runny eggs and dishes made with them (homemade mayo, raw batter)
- Unpasteurized dairy: raw milk, soft cheeses made from raw milk
- Cold deli meats unless reheated to steaming hot
- Raw sprouts: alfalfa, clover, radish, mung bean
- Liver and liver products (pâté, liverwurst)
- Alcohol-based herbal tinctures
The list of what’s safe is far longer than what’s restricted. Lean meats, cooked seafood, pasteurized dairy, eggs cooked through, whole grains, beans, nuts, and a wide variety of fruits and vegetables are all not only safe but encouraged. Most pregnancy food safety comes down to two principles: make sure it’s cooked to the right temperature, and make sure dairy products are pasteurized.