What Fish Can Pregnant Women Eat?
What fish can I eat now that I am pregnant? This was the first food-related question I had after I found out I was pregnant.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) encourages pregnant and breastfeeding mothers to follow the FDA and EPA’s advice on fish consumption.
Click HERE to read ACOG’s full guidance.
Click HERE to read FDA’s advice.
In summary, the FDA and EPA’s recommends the following for women of childbearing age (especially pregnant and breastfeeding women) and for parents and caregivers of young children:
1. Eat 2 to 3 servings of fish a week from the “Best Choices” list OR 1 serving from the “Good Choices” list.
2. Eat a variety of fish.
3. Serve 1 to 2 servings of fish a week to children, starting at age 2.
4. If you eat fish caught by family or friends, check for fish advisories. If there are no advisory, eat only one serving and no other fish that week.
ACOG also states that “it is important that pregnant women avoid all raw and undercooked seafood, eggs and meat” due to fish of listeriosis, a severe foodborne illness.
BEST CHOICES (eat 2 to 3 servings a week).
- Anchovy
- Atlantic croaker
- Atlantic mackerel
- Black sea bass
- Butterfish
- Catfish
- Clam
- Cod
- Crab
- Crawfish
- Flounder
- Haddock
- Hake
- Herring
- Lobster, American and spiny
- Mullet
- Oyster
- Pacific chub
- Mackerel
- Perch, freshwater and ocean
- Pickerel
- Plaice
- Pollock
- Salmon
- Sardine
- Scallop
- Shad
- Shrimp
- Skate
- Smelt
- Sole
- Squid
- Tilapia
- Trout, freshwater
- Tuna, canned light
- Whitefish
- Whiting
GOOD CHOICES (eat 1 serving a week)
- Blue fish
- Buffalofish
- Carp
- Chilean sea bass/Patagonian toothfish
- Grouper
- Halibut
- Mahi mahi/dolphin fish
- Monkfish
- Rockfish
- Sablefish
- Sheepshead
- Snapper
- Spanish mackerel
- Striped bass (ocean)
- Tilefish (Atlantic Ocean)
- Tuna, albacore/white, tuna, canned and fresh/frozen
- Tuna, yellowfin
- Weakfish/seatrout
- White croaker/Pacific croaker
CHOICES TO AVOID (highest mercury levels)
- King mackerel
- Marlin
- Orange roughy
- Shark
- Swordfish
- Tilefish (Gulf of Mexico)
- Tuna, bigeye
Resources:
- Update on seafood consumption during pregnancy. Available at: https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/practice-advisory/articles/2017/01/update-on-seafood-consumption-during-pregnancy. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
- Advice about eating fish, from the Environmental Protection Agency and Food and Drug Administration revised fish advice, availability. Fed Regist 2017;82:6571-6574. Available at: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/01/19/2017-01073/advice-about-eating-fish-from-the-environmental-protection-agency-and-food-and-drug-administration. Retrieved April 4, 2020.