Eating Fish During Pregnancy: What's the Right Approach?

the right approach is clear and simple

The debate over whether 11 ounces of fish or 13 ounces of fish is best for North American moms-to-be is largely academic. North Americans usually eat a very low seafood, high meat diet, so few pregnant women (less than 3 percent, according to recent FDA data) eat 12 or more ounces of fish a week. In fact, the average pregnant woman in the U.S. eats 1.89 weekly ounces.

To put this in perspective, Island cultures like the Seychelles that eat fish-rich diets, nearly 17 ounces per week, have been studied for decades and researchers consistently find no pattern of negative effects among children.

In light of the studies you mentioned in your first paragraph that reveal the risks not eating enough seafood, the FDA is currently exploring a new approach to this discussion that looks at the whole picture: the risks of eating plenty of fish versus the risks of limiting or avoiding fish for both brain development and heart health.

But for now, the 2004 federal advice remains and is more simple than it is often made out to be:

- Eat a variety of fish 2-3 times a week, of which 6 ounces can be canned albacore tuna.

- Don’t eat tilefish, shark, swordfish, or king mackerel (which you probably don’t anyway).

- Check guidance on locally caught sport fish.

Translation: The vast majority of moms-to-be should add an extra meal or two of fish each week while continuing to avoid four species.

For ideas of what plenty of fish looks like in the real-life diet of a registered dietitian, visit my blog…www.blogaboutseafood.com.

Sincerely,

Jennifer McGuire, MS, RD

National Fisheries Institute