Seafood is an important part of a low-fat, balanced diet. Seafood is a quality protein, low in fat and high in healthy nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids, which reduce your risk for heart disease. The Food and Drug Administration suggests pregnant women restrict seafood intake to 12 oz. of seafood each week, or the equivalent of two average meals. Eating the right kind of seafood can help you balance the benefits and risks of eating seafood when you are pregnant.
Parasites
A pregnant woman can kill the parasites living in raw fish by cooking or freezing the meat before consumption. You can safely eat cooked sushi, like eels and California rolls, according to OBFocus. Cook fish to an internal temperature of at least 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Fish turns opaque and gains a flaky texture when the meat is fully cooked. Freezing fish at -10 degrees Fahrenheit for at least one week will also kill most larvae.
Seafood-Borne Illness
The greatest risk for seafood-borne illness comes from raw or undercooked shellfish, particularly clams, oysters and mussels from contaminated waters. Raw seafood may contain bacteria, such as Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus and viral agents like hepatitis A. Pregnant women should not consume raw fish.
Mercury
Pregnant women should avoid fish with high mercury levels. Small fish feed on tiny aquatic organisms that contain minute amounts of methylmercury, which is naturally occurring and released by industrial pollution. Bigger, longer living fish consume large quantities of these smaller fish. The longer the larger fish lives, the higher its mercury level will rise due to the cumulative effect of all its contaminated meals. Fish further up the food chain, with the highest levels of mercury, are more likely to end up on your dinner plate. Pregnant women, nursing mothers, or women who may become pregnant should avoid eating shark, swordfish, tilefish, king mackerel or tuna steaks. Limit chunk canned tuna to two cans per week.
Benefits
There are many benefits of including small amounts of the right kinds of seafood into your diet while you are carrying your child. A press release issued by Harvard Medical School stated that eating 3 oz. of farmed salmon or 6 oz. of mackerel each week reduces your risk of death from coronary heart disease by 36 percent. In fact, the release suggested that children whose mothers ate fish experienced improved early brain development. Eat fish like shrimp, salmon, pollock and catfish. Consuming a restricted amount of seafood each week may impart benefits to both mother and child.
