The BabyCenter Editorial Team
Until recently, pregnant women were told to avoid soft cheese altogether during pregnancy. These days, the recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is to make sure any soft cheese you eat has a label clearly stating that it’s made from pasteurized milk.

Raw milk and any cheeses or other dairy products made from it can carry disease-causing organisms, including a potentially deadly bacterium called listeria monocytogenes. Although listeria infection is relatively rare (the CDC estimates that it affects 2,500 people in the U.S. every year and this number appears to be decreasing), pregnant women are about 20 times more likely than other healthy adults to get it, and the infection can be devastating or even lethal for their babies. Soft cheeses are thought to be particularly good hosts for listeria. But the pasteurization process kills the bacteria and a whole host of other organisms.

Cottage cheese, ricotta, cream cheese, processed cheeses (such as American) and hard cheeses (such as cheddar and parmesan), as well as cultured dairy products like yogurt and buttermilk, are generally considered to be safe. And most dairy products made in the US are pasteurized anyway. But since there’s no guarantee, it’s best to check the label and make sure that any dairy product you consume during pregnancy is made with pasteurized milk.

http://www.babycenter.com