Pregnant women should eat more fish
A group of top professors of obstetrics and doctors of nutrition from across the United States, in partnership with the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition today released their recommendations for seafood consumption during pregnancy. They recommend a minimum consumption of 12 ounces per week of oily ocean fish like salmon, tuna or sardines.
The scientists' advice contradicts previous recommendations that pregnant women should eat no more than 12 ounces of seafood per week due to concerns about mercury contamination. Obstetrician Ashley Roman of the New York University, herself a new mother, said that she has already been recommending that people should have at least three servings of fish a week. She said that fish intake during pregnancy has never been linked with mercury toxicity in fetuses or newborns, while many benefits to mother and baby have been shown.
The report states that "recent studies indicate that the nutritional benefits of fish consumption during pregnancy greatly outweigh potential risks from trace methyl mercury consumption. While a nutritional deficiency from insufficient seafood consumption (long-chained omega-3 fatty acids) is quite common, the risk of mercury toxicity is exceedingly rare".
