Question

A pregnant mother who has been eating more fish to obtain a good supply of n-3 fatty acids read a newspaper article indicating that all ocean fish are contaminated with mercury. She is concerned about the safety of her baby. Review the current advisory of the FDA (www.fda.gov and Box 9-4) regarding the consumption of fish by pregnant women. How would you advise her? Develop some practical menu suggestions to help her.

Answer 1

Pregnancy is a state where a women has to take sufficient nutrients in order to maintain health of growing fetus,

It is good to eat fish during pregnancy for meeting the nutrition needs of growing foetus, but it should be consumed very much or very less. As fishes are good source of n-3 fatty acid which is beneficial for maternal as well as fetal health ,

women should consume fish during pregnancy, or planning of pregnancy or breastfeeding , as it contains essential fatty acids, minerals, protein and vitamin.

In the given condition mother is eating more fish to get n-3 fatty acid ,but when she heard about the mercury contamination in fishes she stopped eating, to clear her doubts and broaden her view ,according to FDA recommendation a women should take 0.227kg to 0.33kg fish in a week which is low in mercury.

That is 2 to 4 serving in a week, to meet the protein requirement it can be consumed by the mother ,but she should make sure fishes are low in mercury ,low mercury fishes are catfish, cod fish, shalmon, shrimp, etc .

Fishes high in mercury gets converted to methyl mercury which causes neurotoxin ,if consumes it may lead to neurological problem to the foetus, eg are: tilefish, shark etc should be avoided as it contains high amouta of mercury .

Also pregnant mothers are advised to avoid eating raw fishes as it has more tendency to develop food borne diseases.

If a mother is consuming fish from the local market or river , she can get the information regarding fishes by local water body regulatories, or she can get the information on local website about fishes.