Thanksgiving Safety for You and Baby

While your pregnancy may heighten this year's Thanksgiving festivities, it's also a reminder to take extra precautions with the holiday foods you eat. Pregnancy weakens your immune system and makes you more vulnerable to food-borne illnesses that could make you sick and even harm your baby. Dangerous bacteria and parasites such as salmonella, listeria, toxoplasma, staphylococcus aureaus, and E. coli may be present in improperly prepared, cooked, and stored foods. Several of these, including listeria and toxoplasma, can cross your placenta and harm your baby even if you experience no symptoms.

Here are some tips to keep you and your baby safe during the Thanksgiving holiday:

Turkey and Stuffing: If your turkey is frozen, defrost it in the refrigerator, not on the counter or in a warm oven; and wash the turkey before you handle it to help remove any bacteria on the skin. Don't rely on cooking time and skin color to determine when your turkey is done; you need to cook the turkey to an internal temperature of 180 degrees F. To get an accurate internal temperature, insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh muscle without touching the bone. If you usually cook the stuffing inside the turkey, cook it separately this year. If the stuffing is inside the turkey it will not reach a high enough temperature to kill bacteria (165 degrees F).

Smoked meats and meat spreads: If you're serving meat spreads such as pâté, or smoked meats such as smoked salmon, use only canned. Smoked meats and meat spreads that are found in the deli or refrigerated section of your grocery store may contain listeria.

Carving Stations: If there is a carving station at a restaurant or party, make sure the meat is well-cooked and still steaming hot. Avoid sauces such as hollandaise, béarnaise, and aioli, which may contain uncooked eggs.

Unpasteurized soft cheeses: Avoid soft cheeses made with unpasteurized, or "raw" milk, which may contain listeria. Some soft cheeses are made with pasteurized milk, and it will say so on the label. If you are not able to check the label, it's best to steer clear of soft cheeses such as Brie, Camembert, goat cheese, Limburger, Montrachet, Neufchâtel, Pont L'Evêque, and Mexican-style cheese like queso fresco. You should also avoid semi-soft cheeses such as Asiago, Bel Paese, bleu, brick, Gorgonzola, Havarti, Muenster, Port Salut, Taleggio, and blue-veined cheeses such as Roquefort. If you're not sure whether a cheese is safe or not, stick with cheddar, Swiss, and Monterey Jack.

Fruitcake and other alcoholic food items: Most desserts that use alcohol as an ingredient, such as fruitcake, are okay to eat because most of the alcohol burns off during cooking. However, if the dessert has been soaked in alcohol after baking, most of the alcohol will remain and you should avoid it.

Cider: Make sure any hot or cold apple cider you drink has been pasteurized. Unpasteurized juices can contain E. coli bacteria. Almost all juice sold is pasteurized, and unpasteurized juice sold in containers is required to carry a warning label.

Leftovers: Be sure to refrigerate leftovers immediately, and use shallow pans and dishes so the food cools quickly. If kept in a refrigerator at 40 degrees F or less, leftovers can be safely eaten for the next two days; any longer may put you at risk for illness. Try freezing leftovers to make them last longer. And don't rely on smell or appearance to indicate food safety; bacteria and germs that lead to illness can invade and spoil a food long before it begins to smell bad.

Now that you've protected you and your little one from food-borne illnesses, here's a comfort tip: avoid gorging at the Thanksgiving table as you may have in years past. Depending on how far along you are in your pregnancy, you could end up with a nasty case of heartburn. Try nibbling and snacking throughout the day instead of diving in with the rest of the family during the big meal. Also, bring your walking shoes and take a short walk between dinner and dessert; this will aid your digestion and burn off some of the day's calories.