Pregnant and soft ice cream

1. Pregnant women can often feel the need for a refreshing ice cream on a hot summer day. However, especially during pregnancy, women should be extra careful when choosing the ice cream they want to eat. Soft ice cream can be contaminated with the bacteria Listeria Monocytogenes. This bacteria can cause premature birth and miscarriages in pregnant women. The risks are greater if the ice cream maker in question is older, or if the ice cream is bought in a place where little ice is sold. If you are pregnant, be careful where you buy your ice cream!

Advice on soft ice cream during pregnancy

1. There are various sources in the Netherlands that provide information about safe eating during pregnancy. A number of reliable sources are the RIVM, the nutrition center and the obstetricians or gynecologists. On the RIVM website, pregnant women do not recommend eating soft ice cream. Also on the websites of various midwives it is recommended to prefer to eat prepackaged ice cream instead of soft ice cream. However, soft ice cream is not discouraged on the website of the nutrition center. There is therefore a lot of uncertainty about eating soft ice cream during pregnancy.