Study recommended pregnant women consume fish twice a week for baby’s growth

According to a government-backed research, pregnant women should consume at least two servings of fish each week and are no longer recommended to stay away from certain species.

Researchers caution that the current recommendations to restrict the consumption of fish rich in mercury may be confusing and lead expectant mothers to completely avoid the meal “to be on the safe side.”

As a result, parents run a higher risk of stunting their child’s growth by denying them of essential nutrients including long-chain fatty acids, iodine, vitamin D, and selenium.

Data on 4,131 pregnant women in the UK were studied by researchers from the University of Bristol. The children of these mothers were then tracked throughout their childhoods.

Both the umbilical cord tissue and the mother’s blood were tested for mercury levels. Analysis revealed no negative correlation between greater maternal mercury levels and worse cognitive development in children whose mothers ate fish, with scientists speculating that the food’s nutrients act as a barrier to the metal.

Additionally, children born to mothers who consumed fish often had higher IQs and did better on math and science examinations.

Pregnant women should have no more than two meals of oily fish and no more than two tuna steaks each week, according to the NHS website.

Swordfish and raw shellfish are also advised to be avoided, and pregnant and nursing women should consume fewer servings of certain species of fish.

This is because certain fish may have high amounts of mercury and other contaminants. Mercury consumption during pregnancy might be detrimental to the unborn child.

‘We discovered that the mother’s mercury level during pregnancy is likely to have no deleterious impact on the development of the kid, given that the mother consumes fish,’ research co-author Dr. Caroline Taylor wrote in the journal NeuroToxicology.

There was some indication that if she didn’t consume fish, her mercury levels would affect the kid. The UK Medical Research Council and the UK Wellcome Trust provided funding for the research.