You can eat some cheeses when you’re pregnant, and cheese is great source of calcium. However, some cheeses are not safe to eat. Unsafe cheeses are more likely to grow bacteria such as listeria, which can harm your unborn baby.
Imported soft cheeses may contain bacteria called Listeria, which can cause miscarriage. Listeria has the ability to cross the placenta and may infect the baby leading to infection or blood poisoning, which can be life-threatening. You would need to avoid soft cheeses such as: Brie, Camembert, Roquefort, Feta, Gorgonzola and Mexican style cheeses that include queso blanco and queso fresco, unless they clearly state that they are made from pasteurized milk. All soft non-imported cheeses made with pasteurized milk are safe to eat. The list of cheese is not a complete list. Your doctor or health care provider can provide you additional information. These hard cheeses are usually safe to eat: Derby, Gouda, Parmesan, Romano, Swiss, Edam, Emmental, Cheddar, Colby, Jarleserg, Hararti, Provolone, and Gruyere.
The soft cheese made in the US are usually okay because they are made from pasteurized milk (pasteurization kills the Listeria organism.) Imported soft cheeses are usually best to avoid.
Tell your doctor right away if you get any of these symptoms:
- fever and chills, or other flu-like symptoms
- headache
- nausea
- vomiting
Soft Cheese Listeria Illness
In a healthy adult, Listeria infection will cause flu like symptoms. In pregnant women, it can have much more serious effect including a miscarriage. Even worse, it can take several weeks for the symptoms to manifest. Making it difficult to determine the source of the infection. To test for Listeria, doctors will conduct a blood test. If a positive test is discovered, a treatment of antibiotics is given. If you’ve recently given birth, your newborn can be treated for listeria and treated.
