7 Weeks Pregnant: Food Safety Week for Dads
The brain and face are developing quickly. Arm buds are lengthening and starting to form hand plates, and the umbilical cord is forming.
Your to-do list this week
- Learn the foods to avoid: unpasteurized milk and cheese, deli meats unless heated until steaming, raw or undercooked meat, eggs and fish, and high-mercury fish.
- Take over grocery shopping with the list in your phone. Check labels for 'pasteurized.'
- Know the caffeine guideline: ACOG advises under 200 mg a day, roughly one 12-oz coffee.
- Become the kitchen hygiene guy: separate cutting boards for raw meat, wash produce, reheat leftovers until hot.
"Do you want to read about all of this together, or should I read and give you the short version?" Some people love details; some find them stressful.
The baby this week
About the size of a blueberry, the embryo is growing fast, especially the head, as the brain develops. Arm buds are lengthening and starting to form flattened hand plates; leg buds follow a little behind (NHS). The umbilical cord, the baby’s supply line for the rest of the pregnancy, is taking shape.
How she may be feeling
Many people are at peak nausea and exhaustion around now. Aversions can be intense and illogical; the food she loved last month may now be unthinkable. Go with it.
Food safety, the dad’s version
Pregnancy changes the immune system, which makes some foodborne infections more dangerous. The big one is Listeria. The CDC says pregnant women are much more likely to get listeriosis than other people, and it can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, or serious illness in newborns. Taking over the kitchen is one of the most concrete ways you can help.
Foods to avoid or handle carefully (from the CDC, ACOG and FDA):
- Unpasteurized milk, and soft cheeses made from unpasteurized milk (queso fresco is a common culprit). Check labels.
- Deli meats, hot dogs and cold cuts, unless heated until steaming hot.
- Refrigerated smoked seafood, unless cooked in a dish.
- Raw or undercooked meat, poultry, eggs and seafood (so no rare steak, runny eggs, or raw oysters).
- High-mercury fish such as shark, swordfish, king mackerel, bigeye tuna and tilefish. Low-mercury fish like salmon, shrimp and canned light tuna are good choices a couple of times a week.
- Alcohol. There is no known safe amount during pregnancy.
Caffeine: ACOG advises less than 200 milligrams a day, roughly one 12-ounce cup of coffee.
Make it easy, not preachy
Your partner is not a child, and she’s already getting advice from everyone. Don’t police her plate. Just make the safe choice the easy one: buy pasteurized versions, heat the deli meat for her sandwich, keep cut fruit washed and ready. Be quietly excellent at this.
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Frequently asked questions
Can she eat sushi while pregnant?
Raw fish is generally advised against during pregnancy because of the risk of foodborne illness. Cooked sushi rolls and vegetable rolls are an option. Fish itself is good for pregnancy when it is low in mercury and fully cooked; the FDA's fish chart lists the best choices.
How much caffeine is safe in pregnancy?
ACOG advises limiting caffeine to less than 200 mg a day. That includes coffee, tea, soda, energy drinks and chocolate.
Sources
- Nutrition During Pregnancy, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
- People at Increased Risk for Listeria Infection, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Advice about Eating Fish, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
- Week 7: Your baby and your body, NHS
We link to the original source for every medical and safety claim. Guidance changes; if a source has been updated since our last review, the source wins. How we research.