What should pregnant mothers do to avoid food poisoning during pregnancy?

Food poisoning during pregnancy today is no stranger to pregnant mothers. In many cases, pregnant mothers are poisoned due to improper eating and drinking.

Food poisoning still happens, but not every pregnant mother is knowledgeable about this issue. How does food safety and hygiene in pregnancy affect pregnant women? Let's find out through the following article!

Why is food safety so important during pregnancy?

During pregnancy, your immune system changes to protect the growing fetus. This can make you more susceptible to food poisoning microorganisms.

If you have food poisoning, you will have symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, fever, chills and feeling unwell. See your doctor right away if you get food poisoning while pregnant.

Leftovers can also cause food poisoning during pregnancy

One of the main causes of food spoiling is Campylobacter bacteria. It can live for hours on the stove and is very contagious, especially abundant on raw chicken and easy to cause poisoning in very low amounts. You can imagine that tens of thousands of new Salmonella bacteria that cause intestinal infections, just 500 Campylobacter will cause you food poisoning.

So what do you have to do so that after eating, this bacteria will not affect the portion you have for tomorrow? First, you need to let the hot food cool down before storing it in the refrigerator.

Note that you should never put hot food in the fridge! The heat from the food will make the refrigerator compartment warmer, creating a favorable environment for bacteria to multiply. Instead, wrap leftovers and let them cool down to about room temperature (no more than 4 hours), then refrigerate.

After you cook your food, you should only reheat it once or twice because the more you reheat, the less appealing the food becomes and the loss of nutrients will be lost.

How to use safe food during pregnancy?

Our hands can become dirty and contaminated with germs from the toilet, trash can or from many other sources outside the home. These germs can contaminate food and cause food poisoning. So, before, during and after preparing meals, wash your hands properly to prevent the spread of germs.

You should also wash your hands after handling raw meat and fish, as it can spread germs from them to other sterile foods. This phenomenon is called cross-contamination. It is best to thoroughly wash meat with boiling water and salt before cooking to avoid contaminating your hands, clothing and utensils with bacteria.

After washing your hands, dry your hands thoroughly and clean as bacteria will spread more easily if your hands get wet. You dry your hands with clean hand towels or kitchen towels, do not use dishcloths.

In addition, you should also not handle food for stomach problems such as diarrhea and vomiting. If you must cook while you are sick, use a kitchen towel to dry your hands or use a different personal towel than other family members. Wash and sanitize towels frequently at 60 ° C or higher to kill bacteria. In the event of hand sores keep your skin clean and protected with a waterproof bandage.

Food poisoning during pregnancy will have serious effects on mother and baby. Hopefully the above useful information will help pregnant mothers have safe and healthy pregnancy!