Track your baby's development, week by week    Is it safe to eat
deli meats when I'm pregnant?  It's not safe for pregnant women
to eat deli meats (such as ham, turkey, salami, and bologna) or
hot dogs unless the food has been thoroughly heated and is
steaming hot. These foods can cause a form of food poisoning
called listeriosis.  Listeriosis is caused by Listeria
monocytogenes, a type of bacteria. Heating deli meats until
steaming hot will kill the bacteria if it's present.
Listeriosis is especially dangerous during pregnancy. Most
people don't get sick when they eat food contaminated with
listeria. But healthy pregnant women are more likely than other
healthy adults to get listeriosis and are more likely to become
dangerously ill from it.  The flu-like symptoms of listeriosis
can sometimes advance to potentially life-threatening meningitis
(infection of the membranes covering the brain, with symptoms
such as severe headache and stiff neck) and blood infection.
You can pass the infection on to your baby w