Fish for pregnant women?

Contrary to current US government advice, pregnant and breast-feeding women should eat at least 12 ounces (340 grams) of fish and seafood a week to ensure optimal brain development in their babies, leading scientists say in an advisory to be released Thursday by a nonprofit coalition, the Washington Post reports.

Fish and seafood are rich in nutrients that promote brain and nervous system development in developing foetuses, infant and young children.

But in 2001, the US Food and Drug Administration and the US Environmental Protection Agency said new mothers and mothers-to-be should eat no more than 12 ounces (340 grams) of seafood per week due to concerns about mercury contamination.

The new advisory comes from the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition, which has nearly 150 members, including the March of Dimes, American Academy of Paediatrics and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the Post reported.

The FDA plans to study the coalition's new guidelines but will not change its recommendations on fish consumption by pregnant and breast-feeding women, an FDA representative said. – (HealthDayNews)

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Pregnancy Centre

October 2007