Cheese is an important source of protein and calcium for pregnant women but certain kinds do need to be avoided. Pregnant women are advised not to eat soft, mould-ripened cheeses, such as brie or camembert, and blue-veined cheeses, such as danish blue and stilton. This is because these cheeses are more inclined to allow growth of bacteria, such as listeria, which can harm your unborn child.
However, thorough cooking should kill any listeria, so it should be safe to eat food containing soft mould-ripened or blue-veined cheeses, provided the food has been properly cooked and is piping hot all the way through.
In healthy adults, infection with listeria can cause a short-lived flu-like illness. Pregnant women, however, can be hit harder by listeria, for the same reason you are more susceptible to everything during pregnancy: your immune system isn't working as well. Symptoms usually develop several weeks after exposure to the bacteria, which can make it hard to pinpoint exactly which food made you sick. Symptoms may include fever, chills, muscle aches and back pain. Doctors diagnose listeria infection by swabbing a sample from your vagina and cervix and checking your blood. Antibiotics will treat the infection. Newborns can also be tested and treated.
Unpasteurised cheeses imported from abroad or made by small producers are also safe to eat in pregnancy provided they are made from cow's milk and are not mould-ripened or blue-veined. The Food Standards Agency states that listeria is present in these cheeses in very low numbers and they are therefore not considered a risk during pregnancy. On the other hand, unpasteurised milk (from any animal) is not considered safe. In the USA, pregnant women are advised to avoid feta cheese because of the risk of listeria, but the feta cheese sold in the UK is considered safe to eat during pregnancy.
Cheeses which are SAFE to eat in pregnancy
Hard cheeses:
austrian smoked, Babybel, caerphilly, cheddar, cheshire, derby, double gloucester, edam, emmental, english goat's cheddar, feta (if bought in the UK), gouda, gruyere, halloumi, havarti, jarlsberg, lancashire, mozzarella, orkney, paneer, parmesan, pecorino (hard), provolone, red leicester.
Soft and processed cheeses:
Boursin, cottage cheese, cheese spread, cream cheese, mascarpone, philadelphia, quark, ricotta.
Yoghurts, fromage frais, soured cream and creme fraiche -- any variety, including natural, flavoured and biologically active -- are all safe to eat.
Cheeses to AVOID in pregnancy
Mould-ripened soft cheeses:
brie, blue brie, cambozola, camembert, chaumes, pont L'eveque, prince jean, tallegio. vacherin-fribourgeois, weichkaese.
Blue-veined cheeses:
bavarian blue, bergader, bleu d'Auvergne, blue shropshire, cabrales, Danish blue, dolcelatte, doppelrhamstuge, eldel pilz, gorgonzola, manchego, romano, roncal, roquefort, stilton, tommes, wensleydale (blue).
Soft unpasteurised goat and sheep's cheeses:
chabichou, pyramide, torta del cesar.
2007-03-27 01:04:28
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answer #1
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answered by mom_princess77 5
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i've never heard of any specific cheeses you can and can't eat during pregnancy. my daughter was born perfectly normal, and i'm sure that she had a diet of plenty of mozerella before being born.
2007-03-27 01:00:51
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answer #2
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answered by minstrelboy 2
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Should be fine uncooked and easily fine cooked. Here is infor from some baby/mother site.
Cheeses which are SAFE to eat in pregnancy
Hard cheeses:
austrian smoked, Babybel, caerphilly, cheddar, cheshire, derby, double gloucester, edam, emmental, english goat's cheddar, feta (if bought in the UK), gouda, gruyere, halloumi, havarti, jarlsberg, lancashire, mozzarella, orkney, paneer, parmesan, pecorino (hard), provolone, red leicester.
Soft and processed cheeses:
Boursin, cottage cheese, cheese spread, cream cheese, mascarpone, philadelphia, quark, ricotta.
Yoghurts, fromage frais, soured cream and creme fraiche -- any variety, including natural, flavoured and biologically active -- are all safe to eat.
Cheeses to AVOID in pregnancy
Mould-ripened soft cheeses:
brie, blue brie, cambozola, camembert, chaumes, pont L'eveque, prince jean, tallegio. vacherin-fribourgeois, weichkaese.
Blue-veined cheeses:
bavarian blue, bergader, bleu d'Auvergne, blue shropshire, cabrales, Danish blue, dolcelatte, doppelrhamstuge, eldel pilz, gorgonzola, manchego, romano, roncal, roquefort, stilton, tommes, wensleydale (blue).
Soft unpasteurised goat and sheep's cheeses:
chabichou, pyramide
2007-03-27 01:02:10
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answer #3
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answered by Anonymous
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Pregnant women are advised not to eat soft, mould-ripened cheeses, such as brie or camembert, and blue-veined cheeses, such as danish blue and stilton. This is because these cheeses are more inclined to allow growth of bacteria, such as listeria, which can harm your unborn child.
2007-03-27 01:00:10
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answer #4
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answered by bumblecherry 5
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You only have to avoid cheeses and soft cheese that are not processed.
Philadelphia cheese IS processed its fine!
2007-03-27 01:01:25
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answer #5
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answered by Anonymous
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Hi! I think mozarella is fine - it's mostly the soft cheeses that you need to stay away from; like Philadelphia, etc.
I did a quick Google search and found the link below for you.
:-)
xx Emmie
2007-03-27 01:00:46
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answer #6
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answered by Sparklepop 6
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Yes,
I'm 21weeks pregnant and have been craving lots of the mozzarella balls!
So much so, Ive started to eat the reduced fat ones as I'm liking them too much and dont want to put on lots of weight!
2007-03-27 02:50:58
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answer #7
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answered by H 2
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As far as i know its fine.
Its just unpasturised stuff thats dangerous i think. I ate loads of the stuff on pizzas when I was pregnant and my kids turned out ok.
2007-03-27 01:00:12
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answer #8
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answered by Michelle 4
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Sure you can but stay away from cheeses that are bacteria processed for example, brie, cammembert and feta.
2007-03-27 01:00:14
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answer #9
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answered by Anonymous
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i ate mozzarella, u cant eat fresh cheese like
fetta
ricotta
brie
camembert
blue vein
incase they contain listeria, but u can add them to cooking, cos heat kills the germs, good luck
2007-03-27 01:01:32
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answer #10
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answered by ROCKMUM LOVES BOWIE 7
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