Listeria During Pregnancy: Everything you need to know

What is the deal with Listeria during pregnancy? Is it really that bad? 

There are so many things you are told to avoid while pregnant. Don’t lie on your stomach, don’t lie on your back, don’t exercise too much, don’t you DARE get a massage during your first trimester. (That last one really irks me.) And then we get to all the food restrictions. Don’t eat deli meat, don’t eat soft cheese, don’t eat undercooked meat, don’t eat runny yolks…

Yeah, if you’re pregnant or ever have been, you totally understand. Personally, I’m a “why” person, so I was always curious to know the reasoning behind a lot of these restrictions. I know that ultimately it’s all for the health of mom and baby, but we should be able to understand why certain foods are potentially harmful. Most of these things are part of our daily non-pregnant lives, so why exactly do we need to skip out on them during pregnancy?

When we look at the food restrictions, the scariest one to me is the threat of Listeria during pregnancy.  So we’re going to take a closer look at Listeria to understand what the deal is and why we need to avoid it.  (Let me know if you’re curious about the other foodborne illnesses that can affect you during pregnancy and I’ll write another post.) (more…)