Can I Eat Seafood While Pregnant?

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Most seafood is safe to eat while pregnant, assuming it is cooked properly. Many seafoods have essential nutrients for you and your baby. Fish and other seafood are an important part of a healthy diet, just so long as you are not allergic to them.

Common sense goes a long way toward eating safe seafood during pregnancy. Here are some important tips-

Avoid any food that smells bad or is discolored.
Most fish will turn opaque and get flaky when it is cooked.
Let fish rest for 3-4 minutes after coming off the heat to finish cooking throughout.
Seafood with shells like lobsters, crabs, and shrimp will turn a shade of pink/orange/red when cooked.
Check clams, oysters, and mussels for open shells before cooking. Discard any that are open. Check them again after cooking and discard any that are still closed. Safe seafood is closed while raw and open when cooked.
Use a thermometer. Anything else is just guessing. Fish fillets are done at 145F with a rest for a few minutes after.
Don’t eat raw seafood, even sushi. Raw seafood may contain bacteria or parasites. Food poisoning during pregnancy is very serious.

Some fish can contain environmental pollutants such as locally-caught fish from lakes and streams. Avoid eating anything caught locally such as by you or family/friends during fishing trips.

Some ocean fish like swordfish, shark, tuna, marlin, and mackerel naturally contain high levels of mercury and should be avoided during pregnancy. Mercury can harm a developing fetus by affecting the nervous system. Tuna is the least offender here and can be consumed in small amounts.

The types of fish that you can practically eat as much as you want of are white-fleshed ocean fish such as cod, haddock, pollock, and flounder. These fish considered the safest when it comes to heavy metals and other pollutants.

Fish that has been smoked, such as salmon, is generally safe to eat if it has been thoroughly heated before serving. Do not eat smoked fish that is still cold as it may have listeria bacteria.