Highlights of Maternal Nutrition Group Findings

A Maternal Nutrition Group, comprised of top professors of obstetrics and doctors of nutrition from across the country, met and reviewed current science on the risks and benefits of consuming seafood in pregnancy. Their recommendations, based on substantial benefit from seafood, encourage women who want to become pregnant, are pregnant or are breastfeeding, to eat a minimum of 12 ounces of fish per week. The group concluded that the risk of mercury toxicity is exceedingly rare whereas the risk of a nutritional deficiency from lack of seafood consumption is extremely common. Women who eat fish rich in long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, such as those found in salmon, tuna, sardines and mackerel, have children with better brain, motor and behavior skills.

Species of Fish To Avoid

The FDA/EPA advisory recommends that women who are pregnant, planning to become pregnant and who are breastfeeding should not eat shark, swordfish, king mackerel, or tilefish because they contain high levels of mercury.

Supporting Science

• Associations of maternal fish intake during pregnancy and breastfeeding duration with attainment of developmental milestones in early childhood: a study from the Danish National Birth Cohort (AJCN, Sept. 2008) [PDF 154KB]
• Fish oil intake compared with olive oil intake in late pregnancy and asthma in the offspring: 16 y of registry-based follow-up from a randomized controlled trial. (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, July 2008) [PDF 234KB]
• Association between prenatal exposure to methylmercury and visuospatial ability at 10.7 years in the Seychelles child development study. (Neurotoxicology, March 2008) [PDF 130KB]


• Beneficial effects of a polyunsaturated fatty acid on infant development: evidence from the inuit of arctic Quebec. (The Journal of Pediatrics, March 2008) [PDF 113KB]


• Maternal fish intake during pregnancy, blood mercury levels, and child cognition at age 3 years in a US cohort. (American Journal of Epidemiology, March 2008) [PDF 109KB]


• The role of fatty acids in the development and treatment of mood disorders. (Current Opinion in Psychiatry, January 2008) [PDF 130KB]


• Omega-3 fatty acids and supportive psychotherapy for perinatal depression: A randomized placebo-controlled study. (Journal of Affective Disorders, January 2008) [PDF 139KB]


• Nutrient and methylmercury exposure from consuming fish. (American Society for Nutrition, December 2007) [PDF 247KB]


• Seafood Choices: Balancing Benefits and Risks. (Institute of Medicine, October 2006) [PDF 835KB]


• Fish Intake, Contaminants, and Human Health: Evaluating the Risks and the Benefits. (JAMA, October 2006) [PDF 281KB]


• Study of Impact of FDA Advisory on Seafood Consumption in Pregnancy. (Medical University of South Carolina, August 2007) [PDF 36KB]


• Maternal Seafood Consumption in Pregnancy and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Childhood. (Lancet, February 2007) [PDF 113KB]