Don't eat undercooked meat, poultry or eggs

During pregnancy, you're at a higher risk of food poisoning from bacteria. This is called foodborne illness. How your body reacts to food poisoning when you're pregnant might be worse than if you weren't pregnant. Although it's rare, food poisoning may affect the baby, too.

To prevent foodborne illness:

• Fully cook all meats and poultry before eating. Use a meat thermometer to make sure.
• Cook hot dogs and lunch meats until they're steaming hot. Or don't eat them at all. They can be sources of a rare but serious foodborne illness known as a listeria infection.
• Don't eat pates and meat spreads that are stored in a refrigerator. Canned and shelf-stable versions are OK.
• Cook eggs until the egg yolks and whites are firm. Raw eggs can have harmful bacteria. Don't eat foods that may be made with raw or partly cooked eggs. Examples include homemade eggnog, raw batter and dough, tiramisu, freshly made or homemade hollandaise sauce, homemade Caesar salad dressing and homemade ice cream.
• Don't eat ready-made meat salads or seafood salads. These include ham salad, tuna salad and chicken salad.