Is Seafood Safe to Eat During Pregnancy?

Aug 18

By Annie Gager, MS, RD

August 18th, 2024

During pregnancy it crucial that you as a parent know what you can/cannot eat for your baby’s health.

You may have heard that seafood can be high in mercury and ultimately should be avoided reduce risk of mercury toxicity in pregnancy.
Avoiding seafood completely is likely to have worse pregnancy outcomes than learning how to choose the right types of seafood.
**Keep reading to learn why!**

Complications of Mercury Toxicity

First it is important to learn what foods are high in mercury as these should be avoiding during pregnancy. Mercury is a neurotoxin that can have detrimental effects to adults and infants in the womb are at an even greater risk.

For adults, complications of mercury toxicity include:

Vision loss
"Pins and needles" feelings in the hands, feet and mouth
Poor coordination
Impaired speech, hearing and walking
Muscle weakness

For infants in the womb, complications of mercury toxicity include:

Cognitive malformations
Infantile cerebral palsy
Altered brain and nervous system development
Memory problems
Attention deficits
Poor language, fine motor and visual spatial skills

What Foods Are High in Mercury?

So mercury is an element that is found naturally in our air, water, and food. The majority of mercury exposure comes from food, primarily seafood. Fish specifically can have high amounts of mercury. As fish/swim eat, they take in mercury (the methylmercury form) that then bind to proteins in the muscle tissue. Mercury is not something that is eliminated through cooking. So if we as humans are consuming a significant amount of high-mercury fish, we are at a greater risk of toxicity. As we as humans are not all created equal, neither are the mercury contents of fish. Some fish have higher mercury contents than others.

Fish that have the highest mercury contents are those fish that are:

1) Fish predatory in nature

2) Fish that live a long time

3) Fish on the top of the food chain

**High mercury fish to avoid**:

🦈 shark
🦈 albacore tuna (1 serving per week is okay)
🦈 bigeye tuna
🦈 marlin
🦈 swordfish
🦈 tilefish

Low mercury seafood rich to include:

🐟 salmon

🐟 tilapia

🐟 cod

🐟 haddock

🐟 herring

🐟 flounder

🐟 sardines

🐟 whitefish

Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Fish

Now avoiding fish all together is NOT recommended. Fish contain so many nutrients that support a healthy pregnancy. Fish are one of the best sources of omega-3 fatty acids (specially DHA) which is crucial for a healthy pregnancy.

Pregnant women should consume between 3-5 servings of seafood/week to ensure they are getting adequate amounts of omega-3 fatty acids to support fetal nervous system development that can aid in their cognition into childhood. Research shows that adequate omega-3 fatty acid consumption in pregnancy can also reduce risk of preeclampsia, inflammation, and reduce risk of postpartum depression. It is recommend pregnant women consume 1.4 grams of DHA before, during, and after pregnancy.

The Bottom Line for Fish

Avoid high mercury fish.
Aim for 3-5 servings of low-mercury fish per week.
Make sure your seafood is always fully cooked.
Buy your fish from reputable sources.
Consider DHA supplementation if you do not or cannot eat fish.

References:

https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241500456#:~:text=As%20a%20neurodevelopmental%20toxicant%2C%20mercury,cerebral%20palsy%2C%20and%20neurocognitive%20effects.