Go fish…
New advice from the experts is that pregnant women should aim to eat 12 or more ounces of fish a week, despite government advice to avoid it due to fears about mercury contamination.
Fish is rich in omega-3 fatty acids – in particular, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) – which are essential for brain and nervous system development in unborn babies – but in 2001 and again in 2004, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued consumer advisories recommending that pregnant and nursing women restrict their consumption of seafood to no more than 12 ounces of seafood per week due to concerns about mercury contamination. The FDA also advised pregnant women and nursing mothers to avoid eating shark, tilefish, king mackerel and swordfish because of high mercury content, and to eat no more than six ounces per week of albacore tuna for the same reason.
Up to 90% of pregnant women are eating less than the recommended amount of fish due to fears it may contain harmful mercury – but experts now say the nutritional benefits outweigh the risks
Fish consumption dropped in the wake of that advice – but now the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition, which includes the March of Dimes, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says that the harm that could be caused to unborn babies by a lack of omega-3 fatty acids outweighs any potential risk from mercury.
Many pregnant women have been put off eating any fish at all – according to National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies, up to 90% are eating less than the recommended amount – for fear of harming their developing baby, but it’s a vital part of diet in pregnancy and new motherhood. It promotes better cognitive and motor skills and there’s evidence it may also reduce the risk of premature birth, low birthweight and postpartum depression. And it really is ‘brain food’ – a recent study carried out by US and UK scientists suggested that the children of women who ate less than the recommended amount of fish in pregnancy had lower IQs, poorer test scores and more behavioral and social problems than their peers whose mothers had eaten 12 ounces or more of fish a week.
Despite no solid evidence to show that mercury in fish causes mercury toxicity in unborn babies or newborns, mercury is still an issue and the FDA says it won’t be urging pregnant women to eat more than 12 ounces of fish despite this new advice. Experts in favor of more fish urge pregnant women who may still feel cautious to stick to ocean fish such as salmon, tuna and sardines – not only are these higher in omega-3s, they also contain a mineral called selenium which is thought to limit any damage that may potentially be caused by mercury. If you still plan to avoid fish, get your omega-3s via fish oil supplements or other foods rich in omega-3s, such as flaxseed oil, walnuts, fortified eggs, leafy green vegetables or poultry raised on DHA-rich food.