While you know you need to eat a balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables while pregnant, it is just as important to avoid the foods that aren’t safe to eat while you’re pregnant. When it comes to pregnancy nutrition, be sure to avoid any dairy products that have unpasteurized milk, including brie, feta, camembert, blue cheese and Mexican cheeses such as queso blanco, queso fresco, queso de hoja, queso de crema and queso asadero. Unpasteurized milk can lead to food borne illness.

You should also avoid types of seafood that can be high in mercury, like swordfish, shark, king mackerel and tilefish. High mercury intake is known to interfere with a growing fetus’s nervous system. It’s best to avoid herbal tea as well. Many herbs have not been tested for how they interact with the developing fetus. With a little common sense and by following some basic food-safety rules, you can give your growing body the safe nutrition it needs.