A woman’s body and mind undergoes a lot of unique changes during pregnancy, and it is important that an expecting mother be fully prepared to tackle all these changes. To ensure a smooth and safe delivery of the baby, one pf the most important criteria that needs to be fulfilled is the proper upkeep of the mother’s health, both physical and mental.
Although during pregnancy a woman is always under professional clinical guidance and receives lots of important advice for the doctors, some precautions and steps need to be taken at home also. The most important one among such steps is to plan and maintain a proper diet to provide sufficient nutrition to both the mother and her child in the womb. And when planning a diet, one of the most frequently asked question is about eating eggs safely during pregnancy. This article aims to answer some of these queries.
The Good Side of Eggs
Eggs are an excellent source of protein and also of some important vitamins and minerals like Vitamin D and Vitamin B12, and also riboflavin and choline. These are required to maintain good health, although including eggs in one’s pregnancy diet may require some careful precautions regarding safety and health.
The Bad Side of Eggs
Despite being a storehouse of important proteins and vital minerals and vitamins, eggs can also be dangerous and actually make people sick. This is because eggs are a carrier of the deadly salmonella bacteria, which can cause severe infections. So, when eating eggs, only properly cooked eggs should be eaten to avoid chances of infection. Soft-boiled eggs or dishes containing uncooked eggs like some salads and cakes may still contain the bacteria, which may result in an infection.
But merely ensuring that the cooks are thoroughly cooked may not be enough, since leaving cooked eggs outside for a long time may result in the development of the bacteria Listeria. Infection caused by the bacteria, called listeriosis, is one of the leading causes of food poisoning in pregnant women, and may also severely affect the unborn child, even though the mother herself may not show visible symptoms of the infection. So, it is best to eat eggs immediately after cooking them thoroughly, to avoid such infections and diseases.
Some women may also develop a previously unknown aversion towards eggs during pregnancy, for them, eating scrambled eggs with other vegetables to hide the smell of eggs, or incorporating them into dishes that mask the taste of eggs may help them to eat eggs and take the necessary nutrients.
When eating eggs, a close track on the number of calories and fats should also be kept. Although eggs are an important source of proteins and vitamins, they may also add harmful cholesterol to the body. Generally, doctors prescribe that eating one or two eggs a day during pregnancy is relatively safe.
During pregnancy, the mother’s body needs a lot of nutrients and proteins and eggs can be an excellent source of these. So, people should stop wondering is eating eggs during pregnancy safe, and safely include them in their diets.
