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Eating fish during your pregnancy, harmful?

Well I love fish but have not eaten any since finding out I'm pregnant.  I am going to a fish restaurant with a few other couples tomorrow night and was wondering if it would be ok to eat fish every so often or at least this once??? I know they say tuna isn't good because of all the mercury, but I don't know where other fish stand.  I can only tolerate (but love) mild fish like grouper and snapper.
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363110 tn?1340920419
Basically the bigger the fish the more pollutants it has. The smaller the fish the safer it is.

I eat samon maybe 2X a month, but smaller fish like Tilapia I'll eat a couple times a week.
they DO say to stay away from sushi, but I've eaten it thruout my pregnancy because the place I buy it at makes it SUPER fresh, and has been given a grade A by the food inspectors.

Also, I'd been eating there for a year and never been sick before so that also helped with my decision. I won't eat raw sushi anywhere else. (and I keep it to maybe 1-2X a month)
Helpful - 0
422823 tn?1229736847
Salmon is supposed to be okay, as long as it is not the dreid smoked stuff. Now, there are many varieties of salmon, just check out the lists abo ve and you will be just fine : )

I eat salmon, I used too anyway, (I have bad m/s), and I will eat it again soon!!!!
Helpful - 0
461781 tn?1285609481
This page is really good it tells you what kinds of fish are good and which are bad for you during pregnancy.  Eating fish is good but some may be harmful.


http://fn.cfs.purdue.edu/anglingindiana/FishAdvisory%2006.PDF
Helpful - 0
304970 tn?1331425994
Cheesecake7

What about salmon? Am I wrong on that b/c I LOVE IT! I would be sooo happy to find that I am allowed to have salmon!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
My doctor says to steer clear of the ones that cheesecake7 said, but as a good rule of thumb, she says that the fish that you DO eat... make sure that they are wild and not farm raised.  Farm raised fish actually contains higher amounts of pollutants.  This is because they put chemicals in the water these fish swim in to keep the rate of disease down since they are swimming in extremely close quarters.  So, it is ok to eat fish once a week, but you should make sure that the fish was caught in the wild.  You will pay more for wild fish, but it is better for you and the baby.
Helpful - 0
477732 tn?1222111729
I wish I could find you the article I read the other day. I'm also a fish lover, as we fish almost every weekend! There are groups of fish considered very dangerous - the one listed by cheesecake above. I know tuna is the 2nd highest group, but you can have it once or twice a month (I had it quite often in one of my pregnancies). Salmon is also one to be very cautious with. But you are safe with some fish like whitefish, trout, grayling, all in moderation, once or twice a week. And you are never supposed to eat smoked or raw fish.
Helpful - 0
422823 tn?1229736847
I eat and love fish and this is what I have read:  you need to avoid all large, predatory fish.  This includes, tuna, shark, grouper, marlin, orange roughy, and Swordfish. Also, only eat cooked fish.

Look at this article:

http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancyhealth/fishmercury.htm


I research a lot about this because I love fish and this is the best, easiest to understand article that I found. The information about the large predatory fish is pretty much the same regardless of where you look.  
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I had heard the fish was good also, but I wasn't sure if it was just the tuna that has high amounts of mercury or what.  I love mild fishes so that's why I wasn't sure how harmful they were (if they are harmful at all).
Helpful - 0
372206 tn?1235168293
I eat fish all the time. I eat smoked salmon and prawns and cod and basically everything. lol

Try to stick to no more than 2 tins of tuna a weeka s it has high levels of vitamin A and try to avoid sushi too. You should continue to eat at least 2 portions of fish a week its good for the babys brain development.
Helpful - 0
304970 tn?1331425994
Hmm.. Now you have me concerned.. I thought we were only supposed to avoid tuna and salmon.. I thought fish was incredibly healthy.. Especially lighter/white fish. I had fish last night for dinner. I think fish is fine, but am curious to see what everyone else says. Now I am slightly concerned! I am NO help! =)  And I hope it isn't true b.c I LOVE FISH!  It has been hard to stay away from salmon and tuna for me. Especially since I live on an island and we have awesome fresh fish!
Helpful - 0
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