What happens if you eat oysters when pregnant

But what about oysters? The safety of eating oysters during pregnancy varies depending on whether they're raw, smoked, or cooked. Learn the benefits of eating oysters during pregnancy and how to safely prepare them at home. No, it's not safe to eat raw oysters or any other type of seafood during pregnancy that isn't thoroughly cooked.

Because some smoking methods don't cook fish or shellfish to a safe temperature, you'll also want to avoid smoked oysters. Oysters eat by pulling in the surrounding water, which can be contaminated with viruses and bacteria that cause foodborne illness.

What's more, there's no way to tell if an oyster is contaminated just by looking at it. During pregnancy, your immune system is suppressed and you're especially susceptible to all types of foodborne bacteria and viruses. Raw oysters are sometimes contaminated with listeria or Vibrio.

These bacteria can cause the diseases listeriosis and vibriosis, which can make you very sick and potentially lead to health problems for your baby, miscarriage, or stillbirth. Thoroughly cooked fish and shellfish, including oysters, are safe to eat during pregnancy. Cooking fish destroys harmful bacteria and viruses that can be particularly dangerous to you and your baby during pregnancy.

Oysters are also on the FDA's list of "best choice" low-mercury seafood, alongside staples like salmon and pollock. All types of seafood benefit your health and your baby's development — especially brain development. That's why the FDA and ACOG recommend eating 8 to 12 ounces or two to three servings of low-mercury seafood such as oysters per week during pregnancy.

In one, 3. When you're buying oysters, check for a label with a certification number that means they were raised and processed following national safety regulations. Before you start cooking, sort through the oysters and throw out any with a cracked or broken shell. Then test that the oysters are still alive by tapping their shells. Live oysters will close their shell; if an oyster doesn't, throw it away. BabyCenter's editorial team is committed to providing the most helpful and trustworthy pregnancy and parenting information in the world.

When creating and updating content, we rely on credible sources: respected health organizations, professional groups of doctors and other experts, and published studies in peer-reviewed journals. We believe you should always know the source of the information you're seeing. Learn more about our editorial and medical review policies. National Institutes of Health. Korsmo HW, et al. One of the more well-known pathogens that oysters may contain is Vibrio vulnificus , which causes a disease called vibriosis.

Vibriosis has the potential to make anyone seriously ill, not just pregnant women. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, around 80, people get vibriosis every year in the US from eating raw seafood particularly oysters. Approximately of those people die, however, deaths tend to occur in people who are already immunocompromised or have other underlying health conditions source: CDC.

The only way to destroy vibrio bacteria is by cooking. Having read the above, you might now be worried that you accidentally ate raw oysters while pregnant and are now concerned.

The key thing is not to panic — the odds of the oyster being infected or otherwise unsafe are still very low. Many types of shellfish poisoning become apparent quite quickly — from hours source: WebMD.

Going forward, avoid raw oysters and seafood for the duration of your pregnancy. If you have any symptoms that are out of the ordinary for you , such as vomiting, diarrhea, gastrointestinal discomfort or similar, contact your healthcare provider straight away and let them know you ate raw oysters. Pregnant women can eat oysters if they are fully cooked , because the heat will destroy most bacteria or toxins source: CDC.

If you want to be super safe, cut the biggest one in half and check if its steaming hot in the center.

Here's help understanding pregnancy nutrition basics. Seafood can be a great source of protein, and the omega-3 fatty acids in many fish can promote your baby's brain and eye development. However, some fish and shellfish contain potentially dangerous levels of mercury. Too much mercury could harm your baby's developing nervous system. The bigger and older the fish, the more mercury it's likely to contain. So what's safe? Some types of seafood contain little mercury.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends 8 to 12 ounces to grams — two or three servings — of seafood a week during pregnancy.

During pregnancy, you're at increased risk of bacterial food poisoning. Your reaction might be more severe than if you weren't pregnant. Rarely, food poisoning affects the baby, too. Many low-fat dairy products — such as skim milk, mozzarella cheese and cottage cheese — can be a healthy part of your diet. Anything containing unpasteurized milk, however, is a no-no.

These products could lead to foodborne illness. Avoid soft cheeses, such as brie, feta and blue cheese, unless they are clearly labeled as being pasteurized or made with pasteurized milk. Also, avoid drinking unpasteurized juice. To eliminate any harmful bacteria, thoroughly wash all raw fruits and vegetables. Avoid raw sprouts of any kind — including alfalfa, clover, radish and mung bean — which also might contain disease-causing bacteria.

Be sure to cook sprouts thoroughly. It's unclear how much caffeine use during pregnancy is safe. Your health care provider might recommend avoiding caffeine, if possible, or limiting the amount of caffeine in your diet to less than milligrams mg a day during pregnancy. For perspective, an 8-ounce milliliters, or mL cup of brewed coffee contains about 95 mg of caffeine, an 8-ounce mL cup of brewed tea contains about 47 mg and a ounce mL caffeinated cola contains about 33 mg.

There's little data on the effects of specific herbs on developing babies. As a result, avoid drinking herbal tea unless your health care provider says it's OK — even the types of herbal tea marketed specifically for pregnancy to pregnant women. No level of alcohol has been proved safe during pregnancy. The safest bet is to avoid alcohol entirely.

Consider the risks. Drinking alcohol during pregnancy leads to a higher risk of miscarriage and stillbirth. Drinking alcohol may also result in fetal alcohol syndrome, which can cause facial deformities and intellectual disability. If you're concerned about alcohol you drank before you knew you were pregnant or you think you need help to stop drinking, consult your health care provider. There is a problem with information submitted for this request. Sign up for free, and stay up-to-date on research advancements, health tips and current health topics, like COVID, plus expert advice on managing your health.