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Maternal Seafood Consumption Benefits Children's Development

Study Belies Warnings about Contaminants in Seafood

February 16, 2007     Spanish version

Mercury in Fish • High Mercury Levels Found In Sushi • Maternal Seafood Consumption Benefits Children's Development • Study: Benefits of Fish Outweigh the Risks • Tests Find Higher Mercury Content In Imported Tuna • Americans Confused about Mercury in Seafood, Survey Finds • Whole Foods Agrees to Post FDA's Mercury Warning • Americans Confused about Health Effects of Eating Fish • Mercury Levels Rising In Sport Fish • FDA Finds High Mercury Levels in Some Canned Light Tuna • Study: Moderate Fish Consumption Poses Mercury Risks • CSPI: Government Should Warn About Mercury in Fish • Whole Foods Pressed To Add Mercury Warnings • Warnings about Mercury in Fish May Do More Harm Than Good • Despite Contaminants, Fish Healthy for Most Men • Fish is Brain Food • FDA Urged to Crack Down on Tuna Mercury Levels • CA Restaurants Will Issue Fish Warnings • California Sues Tuna Canneries

Higher maternal seafood consumption during pregnancy results in children showing better neurological function than children whose mothers eat low amounts or no seafood during pregnancy, according to an article published in this week's issue of The Lancet.

"We recorded no evidence to lend support to the warnings of the US advisory that pregnant women should limit their seafood consumption," the authors wrote.

"In contrast, we noted that children of mothers who ate small amounts of seafood were more likely to have suboptimum neurodevelopmental outcomes than children of mothers who ate more seafood than the recommended amounts."

Seafood is the predominant source of omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential for optimum fetal brain development. However, in the USA, women are advised to limit their seafood intake during pregnancy to 340 grams per week, to avoid fetal exposure to trace contaminants of neurotoxins.

Joseph Hibbeln of the National Institutes of Health and colleagues from Bristol University analyzed a data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), to assess the possible benefits and hazards to a child's development of different levels of maternal seafood intake during pregnancy.

Maternal seafood intake during pregnancy of less than 340g (i.e., less than three portions) per week was to found to be associated with increased risk of their children being in the lowest quartile of verbal IQ, compared with mothers who consumed more than 340g per week.

Furthermore, low maternal seafood intake was associated with increased risk of suboptimum outcomes for prosocial behavior, fine motor, communication, and social development scores. For each outcome measure, the lower the intake of seafood during pregnancy, the higher the risk of suboptimum developmental outcome.

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