Is Shrimp Safe During Pregnancy?

Women need to exercise caution when eating seafood during pregnancy. Eating certain types of seafood or too much seafood can increase your risk of mercury exposure, which is thought to be harmful to both you and the unborn baby. Unfortunately, many women love seafood. If you enjoy shrimp, you may be wondering if you need to give it up while you are pregnant. Here are some of the things that you should know about shrimp and pregnancy.

Shrimp is Safe During Pregnancy

The good news for shrimp lovers is that it is safe to eat this type of seafood during pregnancy. That said, you will want to monitor the amount of shrimp that you are eating during this time. According to the Mayo Clinic, the Food and Drug Administration and Environmental Protection Agency recommend pregnant women to eat up to 12 ounces of shrimp during pregnancy. This is about two meals which consist of shrimp a week.

If you eat more than two meals of shrimp a week, you are putting yourself at risk of mercury exposure. Thus, it is important to stick to these FDA and EPA guidelines any time you eat shrimp or other types of fish which are considered safe during pregnancy because they are low in mercury, such as crab, clams, haddock, lobster, oysters, salmon, tilapia, and trout.

Limiting Shrimp Intake During Pregnancy

Some women may want to avoid eating shrimp frequently during pregnancy. Although it is considered safe to eat two six ounce servings of shrimp and other types of fish which are low in mercury a week, it can be ideal to consider eating less. Mercury exposure has been linked to serious birth defects, such as brain development and nervous system problems, according to the American Pregnancy Association. While it is safe to eat shrimp, it's best to avoid overindulging.

Overall, it is important to keep in mind that shrimp is considered safe to eat during pregnancy because it is low in mercury. That said, it is important to avoid eating any more than twelve ounces of shrimp a week to prevent overexposure to mercury. You might want to consider eating shrimp even less often than this to prevent birth defects. For more information on how often you can eat fish during pregnancy, be sure to visit the American Pregnancy Association.

Sources:

American Pregnancy Association, "Mercury Levels in Fish."

Mayo Clinic, "Pregnancy and fish: What's too little or too much?"