Can you eat prawns when pregnant?
Polly Logan-Banks
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Find out if it's safe to eat prawns during pregnancy, plus precautions to take to keep yourself and your baby healthy.
The official advice on eating prawns in pregnancy
Cooked prawns
Cooked prawns are perfectly safe to eat during pregnancy – just make sure they're fully cooked until the outside turns pink. It's also fine to eat cold prawns if they've previously been cooked. The same is true for king prawns.
Raw prawns
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It's best to avoid eating raw prawns or raw king prawns during pregnancy. This is because they can cause food poisoning.
During pregnancy, you're more susceptible to food poisoning. While it's unlikely to do your baby any harm, it can be very unpleasant, so experts advise taking a little extra caution to avoid food poisoning while you're pregnant. This includes avoiding uncooked seafood.
The bacteria and viruses in prawns that can cause food poisoning are killed off during cooking, which is why cooked prawns are safe to eat.
What about prawn crackers?
There's no need to change your takeaway habits - prawn crackers are safe to eat when you're pregnant. Prawn crackers are deep fried, so the prawns in them are thoroughly cooked.
Is prawn cocktail safe to eat?
Prawn cocktail is usually made with cooked prawns, so should be safe to eat while you're pregnant. Just make sure you're buying it from somewhere with good hygiene standards, where food is properly cooked. And if there are raw eggs in the Marie Rose sauce, make sure they're British Lion Stamped.
Can I still eat prawn toast?
Yes, provided it's thoroughly cooked, prawn toast is safe to eat in pregnancy.
What else do I need to know?
There's no particular limit to how many prawns you can eat while you're pregnant. As with all foods though, it's best to enjoy them in moderation. Eating a wide variety of foods will help to ensure that you get all the nutrients your growing baby needs.
Fish and shellfish can be an important part of a healthy pregnancy diet. Prawns are packed with protein and rich in antioxidant selenium, plus zinc for a healthy immune system and B vitamins for energy. They also contain iron, which is a particularly important nutrient during pregnancy.
If you're buying fresh prawns, give them a sniff; there shouldn't be too much of a fishy smell. Raw, shelled prawns should be blue-grey in colour. Avoid buying prawns with cracked or dried shells.
Always be sure to store your prawns properly in the fridge or freezer before you cook them, and never refreeze thawed prawns.
Delicious prawn recipes
Love prawns? Why not try one of these great pregnancy-safe recipes?
We like The Whole 9 Months, a week-by-week pregnancy nutrition guide, packed full of recipes and medical advice. See more details here at Amazon.
Looking for more pregnancy diet info? Check out our articles below, or swap tips with other mums-to-be in our forum.
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This article contains affiliate links, which means we may earn a small amount of money if a reader clicks through and makes a purchase. All our articles and reviews are written independently by the Netmums editorial team.
