Can You Eat Ham While Pregnant?
Cooked ham is fine (heat deli slices until steaming); avoid uncooked cured hams like prosciutto and Parma ham unless heated.
The full answer
There are two kinds of ham. Cooked ham (the pink sliced kind) is safe, but as a chilled ready-to-eat meat it can carry a small listeria risk, so the cautious advice is to heat deli slices until steaming before eating them straight from the fridge — in a hot toastie they're fine. Dry-cured, uncooked hams — Parma ham, prosciutto, serrano, and other air-dried hams — aren't cooked, so they can carry listeria and toxoplasma; the guidance is to cook them until steaming (for instance crisped on a pizza) or to avoid them. Cooked ham, hot in a meal, is the easy safe option. As with all cured meats, ham is salty, so keep portions modest.
How to eat ham safely
- Cooked ham: heat deli slices until steaming before eating cold
- Cured hams (Parma, prosciutto, serrano): cook until steaming, or skip
- Cooked ham in a hot toastie or meal is fine
When to avoid: Avoid cold cured/air-dried ham unless heated until steaming; heat cold cooked ham too if you want to be cautious.
Pregnancy food-safety basics
Most “can I have this?” questions in pregnancy come down to four things. Listeria — a bacterium that survives the fridge — is why chilled ready-to-eat meats, pâté, and mould-ripened soft cheeses are heated or avoided. Mercury is why certain fish are limited. Caffeine is capped at about 200 mg a day. And alcohol is best avoided entirely, as no safe amount is known. Cooking food until it’s steaming hot kills listeria and most other bugs, which is why “heat until steaming” solves so many of these questions.
For the full picture, see our pregnancy safety guide, and track your pregnancy with the How Far Along Am I? calculator and the week-by-week guide.
Frequently asked questions
- Can you eat ham while pregnant?
- Cooked ham is fine (heat deli slices until steaming); avoid uncooked cured hams like prosciutto and Parma ham unless heated. There are two kinds of ham. Cooked ham (the pink sliced kind) is safe, but as a chilled ready-to-eat meat it can carry a small listeria risk, so the cautious advice is to heat deli slices until steaming before eating them straight from the fridge — in a hot toastie they're fine. Dry-cured, uncooked hams — Parma ham, prosciutto, serrano, and other air-dried hams — aren't cooked, so they can carry listeria and toxoplasma; the guidance is to cook them until steaming (for instance crisped on a pizza) or to avoid them. Cooked ham, hot in a meal, is the easy safe option. As with all cured meats, ham is salty, so keep portions modest.
- Why is ham something to be careful with in pregnancy?
- There are two kinds of ham. Cooked ham (the pink sliced kind) is safe, but as a chilled ready-to-eat meat it can carry a small listeria risk, so the cautious advice is to heat deli slices until steaming before eating them straight from the fridge — in a hot toastie they're fine. Dry-cured, uncooked hams — Parma ham, prosciutto, serrano, and other air-dried hams — aren't cooked, so they can carry listeria and toxoplasma; the guidance is to cook them until steaming (for instance crisped on a pizza) or to avoid them. Cooked ham, hot in a meal, is the easy safe option. As with all cured meats, ham is salty, so keep portions modest.
- When should I avoid ham during pregnancy?
- Avoid cold cured/air-dried ham unless heated until steaming; heat cold cooked ham too if you want to be cautious.