Reference card · print for the fridge
The NHS list, with the reason attached to each — because the reason is what makes it stick, and what lets you judge the cases the list doesn't cover.
Alcohol: none. No established safe amount. Caffeine: 200 mg/day max — about two mugs of instant coffee, or one strong filter, or four cups of tea. Count the chocolate and cola too. Smoking: none, including secondhand from you.
| Food | Why |
|---|---|
| Unpasteurised milk, cream, yoghurt, butter, ice cream; soft ripened cheeses (brie, camembert, chèvre) and soft blue cheeses (roquefort, gorgonzola) unless cooked until steaming | Listeria. Rare, but can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, or severe newborn illness. Cooking to steaming-hot kills it. |
| Raw or undercooked meat; cured meats unless cooked (salami, chorizo, prosciutto, pepperoni) | Toxoplasmosis. Parasite; risk of miscarriage. Freezing cured meat for 4 days first also does the job. |
| Liver, liver pâté, haggis | Vitamin A (retinol). Too much harms the baby's development. |
| Raw or partially cooked eggs that aren't British Lion stamped; any raw duck, goose or quail egg | Salmonella. British Lion hens are vaccinated, so runny Lion-stamped eggs are fine. |
| Shark, swordfish, marlin | Mercury. Affects the developing nervous system. |
| Raw shellfish; sushi with raw fish unless previously frozen | Bacteria and parasites. Cooked shellfish and previously-frozen sushi are fine. |
| Game meat shot with lead ammunition | Lead. |
| Vitamin A supplements, cod liver oil, multivitamins containing retinol | Vitamin A. Buy a supplement labelled for pregnancy instead. |
| Tuna | Max 4 medium tins or 2 steaks per week — mercury. |
| Oily fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines, trout) | Max 2 portions per week — pollutants. Do eat some: it's good for the baby's brain development. |
| Caffeine | 200 mg/day. Instant coffee ~100 mg, filter ~140 mg, tea ~75 mg, cola ~40 mg, 50g dark chocolate ~25 mg. |
| Folic acid 400 µg | From now until 12 weeks. Prevents neural tube defects. A GP may prescribe 5 mg instead if she has diabetes, epilepsy, a BMI over 30, sickle cell or thalassaemia, or a family history of neural tube defects — worth asking explicitly at booking. |
| Vitamin D 10 µg | All year in the UK, and non-negotiable October–March. Year-round if she has darker skin or covers up outdoors. |
The Healthy Start scheme gives free vitamins and a prepaid card for food to those on qualifying benefits. Also: all NHS prescriptions and NHS dental treatment are free during pregnancy and for 12 months after birth — she needs a MATB1 / maternity exemption certificate (FW8), which the midwife or GP signs. Ask at the booking appointment; people routinely forget and pay for a year.