Is it OK to eat fish during pregnancy?

Pregnant mothers have enough going through their heads. Paint colors for the baby’s room. Breast feed or bottle? If you’re already a parent, you know these things. Some are obviously more important than others. But all are limited by the time constraint of the due date.

Now there’s a new study out telling mothers-to-be how important it is to consume fish during their pregnancy. Three servings a week should help their little Einsteins score higher on tests of mental acuity.

The article also mentions how fish in England has more methyl mercury present than fish in America. As an American, I’m proud of this. Unfortunately, there’s no mention of the actual mercury levels or how great the difference is between the US and UK fish.

As a father, and a fairly recent one, I recall mercury concerns causing physicians to dissuade pregnant women from the consumption of fish. And there’s been research as recent as December 2006 to support this concern. A Taiwanese study found that pregnant women consuming more than three servings a week had high levels of mercury in the umbilical cord blood and placenta.

It could be that mercury levels in Taiwanese fish are higher than their UK counterparts. But I don’t see it mentioned. Maybe fish markets and restaurants need to provide more information for consumers. It would be nice to know where my fish has been swimming before it goes in my belly. Or perhaps one of those three servings of fish each week should come in the form of fish oil. The belief is that the Omega-3s in fish provide the health benefit for our babies, and they’ll still get that through the supplements. Some fish oil brands provide information concerning purity and fishing locations.

Three servings. Maybe it’s that simple.

• More than three. Bad.


• Exactly three. Good.


• Less than three. Not so good.

Three servings of fish a week. No more, no less. You won’t have to guess.

Perhaps three is a magic number.