Listeria, a nasty bacteria, can cause big problems for your developing baby, including miscarriage, preterm delivery, low-birthweight, and even infant death. In newborns, listeriosis causes blood infections and meningitis.
Pregnant women pass listeriosis, the infection caused by listeria, to their children. Most of the time, pregnant women with listeriosis don’t feel sick. Because listeriosis is often elusive, it’s important to do everything possible to prevent it.
Here’s a quiz from WebMD that will help educate you about listeria.
Eggs are good for you, but they are often scorned for the company they keep, including hash browns, full-fat cheese, and bacon. When you’re dining out, side dishes, sauces, and added fat used to make eggs can add hundreds of unnecessary calories to your favorite menu items. But that’s no reason to shy away from eggs, which are relatively low in calories, packed with high quality protein, vitamin and minerals, and choline, which is necessary for your child’s developing brain during pregnancy and infancy.
This Cooking Light piece offers great suggestions about healthier egg dishes in restaurants. When you’re making eggs at home, always use fortified eggs for the greatest benefit. Eggland’s Best eggs provide 10 times the vitamin E, triple the vitamin B12, and twice the vitamin D of regular eggs. Eggland’s Best also supply double the omega-3 fats, which are necessary for peak brain development and vision in developing babies and young children.
This is an informative piece about how eating disorders can affect pregnancy. If you have a history of anorexia or bulimia, or if you are at all fearful of the weight gain pregnancy brings, tell your doctor or midwife. It’s very important that they are aware of your current situation, or what has occurred in the past.
