Is Raw (unpasteurised) milk safe during pregnancy?

Milk, cheese & dairy

Avoid

The NHS, US CDC and US FDA all advise against unpasteurised (raw) milk in pregnancy; ICMR-NIN advises pasteurised or boiled milk.[1,2,3,4,5,6]

What official sources say

NHS: Foods to avoid in pregnancy

  • Cheese, milk and other dairy › Foods to avoid: Unpasteurised milk, cream, yoghurt, butter and ice cream, from cows, sheep or goats, are on the list of foods to avoid in pregnancy.[1]

US CDC: Safer Food Choices for Pregnant Women

  • Riskier Choice: Unpasteurized (raw) milk and dairy products made from raw milk[2]

US CDC: Preventing Listeria Infection

  • Avoid: Raw (unpasteurized) milk, yogurt, and ice cream (advice for vulnerable people, including pregnant women)[3]

US FDA: Ready-to-Eat Foods (Food Safety for Moms-to-Be)

  • Don't eat: Raw (unpasteurized) milk or foods that contain unpasteurized milk.[4]

FSANZ: Food safety for vulnerable people

  • Higher-risk foods: Raw milk and cheeses (advice for vulnerable people, including pregnant women)[5]

ICMR-NIN: Dietary Guidelines for Indians 2024

  • Because milk can easily become contaminated, use pasteurised or boiled milk to keep it safe. (p. 90) (general-population advice, not specific to pregnancy)[6]

Sources

  1. NHS: Foods to avoid in pregnancy · nhs.uk. Paraphrased. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (OGL v3.0). Not endorsed by the NHS.
  2. US CDC: Safer Food Choices for Pregnant Women · cdc.gov. US government work, public domain; quoted. No endorsement implied.
  3. US CDC: Preventing Listeria Infection · cdc.gov. US government work, public domain; quoted. No endorsement implied.
  4. US FDA: Ready-to-Eat Foods (Food Safety for Moms-to-Be) · fda.gov. US government work, public domain; quoted. No endorsement implied.
  5. FSANZ: Food safety for vulnerable people · foodstandards.gov.au. © Food Standards Australia New Zealand, licensed under CC BY 4.0; quoted. No endorsement implied.
  6. ICMR-NIN: Dietary Guidelines for Indians 2024 · nin.res.in. Printed page 90. Paraphrased and cited by printed page; the text is not reproduced.

Sources checked 26 September 2026.

Quotes are checked word for word against each source page, and paraphrases against the original text. Official bodies are named as sources only: none of them reviewed or endorses this page.

Educational information, not medical advice. Your own doctor or midwife may advise differently for you — follow their advice.