Fish OK During Pregnancy

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A new study shows eating fish during pregnancy will not harm the fetus. Typically, pregnant women are warned not to eat certain fish that have high mercury levels or to limit consumption because of a possible risk to the fetus. Now, new research shows there is no reason to reduce fish consumption.

Exposure to methylmercury before birth can adversely affect a child’s neurodevelopment. The most common exposure to this mercury is through the consumption of fish, but whether this amount harms the fetus is unclear. Researchers from the University of Rochester Medical Center investigated whether fetuses were affected by fish consumption in a region where women consume a large amount of fish.

Researchers included 779 mother-infant pairs who lived in the Republic of Seychelles. The mothers in this area report eating fish an average of 12 times a week. In the United States, the average fish consumption is once a week. Researchers say the fish in the region contained the same concentrations of methylmercury as commercial ocean fish elsewhere. The prenatal exposure to this mercury was determined from tests done on the mother’s hair during pregnancy. The children in the study were also evaluated nine years later. Specifically, the children’s neurocognitive, language, memory, motor, and behavioral functions were tested.

Of the 21 tests the children underwent, only two tests were associated with methylmercury exposure. The tests included decreased performance in a hand motor test and improved scores in a hyperactivity test. Investigators say that these two differences probably happened by chance and there is no evidence of neurodevelopmental risk from prenatal exposure to methylmercury resulting from eating fish.

In an accompanying commentary, Constantine Lyketsos, M.D., from Johns Hopkins Hospital, agrees that this study suggests methylmercury exposure from fish consumption during pregnancy does not affect the child later in life. Furthermore he adds, “For now, there is no reason for pregnant women to reduce their fish consumption below current levels, which are probably safe.”

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