Can I eat cheese while pregnant?

I think every pregnant woman should be issued a taser and a wheel of brie.

The taser for people who ask "Haven't you had that baby yet?!" and the wheel of brie because, hey, when can you consume about 800 calories in one sitting and be able to blame any weight on another person?

Listeria is the big worry. Listeriosis is a severe bacterial infection caused by Listeria monocytogenes and can be found naturally in soil, decaying vegetation, and in the intestinal tract of most mammals. Foods that can be contaminated by it include cole slaw, hot dogs, deli meats, chicken, and non-pasteurized dairy products.

Center of Disease Control claims that pregnant women are 20 times more likely to become infected than non-pregnant healthy adults. When someone ingests contaminated food, L. monocytogenes gets into the bloodstream and spreads to other organs, including the placenta. It's nasty. You don't want it and if you read the articles on listeria you will be amazed that any of us made it here considering how common it is and how deadly it can be.

Where you lose me is the connection to soft cheese – such as brie or camembert, and blue-veined cheeses, like danish blue and stilton.

Unpasteurized cheeses and the sale and consumption of raw dairy products are severely restricted in North America. Since 1949, the US government has forbidden the sale of cheeses made from unpasteurized milk unless the cheese is aged at least 60 days (the idea being that after 60 days the acids and salt in the cheese will kill off any harmful bacteria). So you're actually hard pressed to find any soft cheese that isn't pasteurized these days.

Check the packaging or ask if the cheese is pasteurized. If it is, take the maternity waistband for a test drive and roll out the cheese wheel darlin'. Be sure to taser anyone that comes near it.

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