Is it safe to eat seafood while pregnant?
I am 3 months pregnant. I have heard that I can eat seafood, just not raw stuff like sushi. While others tell me I can’t eat any kind of seafood while pregnant. Which statement is true?
Yes and no. As the other person said stay away from seafood with high amounts of mercury such as tuna. And only eat 12oz of seafood a week which is about 2 servings. Seafood is good for you and the baby though so don’t cut it out completely. According to my Dr any shell fish is ok in any amount such as shrimp.
An easy way to estimate your mercury exposure from eating fish is to check out the free online mercury calculator at http://www.gotmercury.org. Based on the current U.S. EPA and FDA guidelines, the mercury calculator is an excellent way to know your potential mercury exposure risk. You can also use the free mobile mercury calculator for cell phone browsers at http://www.gotmercury.mobi
Stay away from sushi and fish and seafood with high levels of mercury. Other then that its actually good for you. I would suggest asking your dr as they might want something different regarding seafood, i cant really answer as i don’t know everything about your pregnancy, but if you follow the 1st 2 things i said you should be fine assuming your pregnancy is normal. Good Luck
References :
nurse 36 weeks baby #1 a girl
Both, there are types of seafood you want to stay away from – in particular those with high mercury levels (shark, swordfish and others). Wild salmon you can eat as much as you like, not so with farmed salmon at all. I’d minimize my shrimp intake as most commercial shrimp is farmed in SE Asia, which means lots of antibiotics and chemicals – if you have to have shrimp make sure the source is form the US. There are some markets that are considering testing for mercury levels in fish, like Whole Foods, so you might consider shopping there.
References :
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pregnancy-and-fish/PR00158
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/04/13/MN119847.DTL
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/02/15/health/webmd/main2484126.shtml
Yes and no. As the other person said stay away from seafood with high amounts of mercury such as tuna. And only eat 12oz of seafood a week which is about 2 servings. Seafood is good for you and the baby though so don’t cut it out completely. According to my Dr any shell fish is ok in any amount such as shrimp.
References :
37 weeks Sunday