Foods & medicines to avoid during pregnancy
Foods
Eating a healthy diet is important while you are pregnant. There are certain foods that might contain bacteria that could hurt your baby. While you are pregnant, do not eat:
- Deli meat (any cold sandwich meat).
- Fish with high levels of mercury, including shark, swordfish, king mackerel or tile fish. (Canned tuna is safe.)
- Smoked seafood.
- Fish exposed to polluted water.
- Raw fish or shellfish including raw oysters or sushi.
- Raw eggs and any foods that contain raw eggs including raw cookie dough and homemade mayonnaise or dressing.
- Soft cheeses made with unpasteurized milk.
- Unpasteurized milk.
- Caffeine.
- Alcohol.
- Unwashed vegetables.
Medicines
If you are experiencing discomfort during your pregnancy, you can take plain Tylenol (acetaminophen) at any time; however, there are other over-the-counter medications you should avoid during pregnancy. If you have any questions about what is safe to take, call our office at 704-384-0560.
The following list of medications should be avoided during pregnancy:
- Excedrin, including Excedrin Migraine
- Pepto Bismol
- Dimetapp
- Castor oil
- Chlor-Trimeton
- Sudafed
- TheraFlu
- Tylenol Allergy Sinus Maximum Strength
- Advil
- Motrin
- Aleve