seafood

Build Your Baby’s Brain with Seafood

September 25, 2024 Women
fish

Seafood is in the news a lot–why you should eat it and some reasons why you shouldn’t. The truth is, fish and seafood are very healthy, but you need to be careful about what and how much you eat, especially if you are pregnant or could become pregnant.

Why is Seafood Healthy?

Baby-Building Nutrients in Seafood

Fish and seafood are excellent sources of protein, and rich in the antioxidant selenium and a healthy fat called omega-3. During pregnancy, omega-3 fats are important for your baby’s brain and eye development and are also good for your own heart health. Because your baby gets all their nutrition from you while you’re pregnant and breastfeeding, they’re counting on you to get omega-3s into your diet.

Other Important Nutrients in Fish

Iron: Shellfish, like shrimp and mussels, are especially high in iron, which along with zinc, can help prevent preterm birth and preeclampsia (a serious blood pressure condition during pregnancy). Having enough iron also prevents iron deficiency anemia which can lead to severe learning problems.

Zinc: Having enough zinc in your diet helps prevent neural tube defects, or birth defects of the brain and spine. Zinc is also needed for your baby’s developing immune system.

Iodine: Iodine is important for thyroid and brain development. Many prenatal vitamins don’t contain iodine.

Choline: Your baby needs choline for brain development and to help prevent neural tube defects. Choline is not found in all prenatal vitamins. Salmon provides a good source of choline, and eggs are also an excellent source.

What Other Foods Have Omega-3s?

Omega-3 fats are found in much smaller amounts in other foods like grass-fed beef. Chia seeds, flax seeds, walnuts, and canola oil are also rich in omega-3s. However, the type of omega-3s found in plant foods are not used by the body in the same way. So even though they are healthy fats, it’s good to get the kinds of omega-3s found in seafood too.

Some milk, cereal, soy milk, margarine, and eggs are fortified with omega-3s. Some prenatal supplements have omega-3s added too; you might see them on the label as DHA and EPA.

Omega-3s found in plant foods are not used by the body in the same way as Omega-3’s from Seafood.
Why some People Avoid Eating Seafood

Some people avoid seafood because they worry about too much mercury. The amount of mercury found in seafood depends on the fish’s diet, habitat, age and size. Larger, predatory fish that eat smaller fish have more mercury in their body. For example, swordfish, which is not recommended during pregnancy, is high in mercury, but salmon is very low.

Picking the Healthiest Seafood During Pregnancy

In general, smaller fish are good choices for seafood. These seafood options are low in mercury and rich in omega-3s:
  • Anchovies
  • Herring
  • Mackerel (Atlantic, jack, chub)
  • Rainbow trout
  • Salmon (wild or farm-raised)
  • Sardines
  • Shrimp
  • Tuna (canned, light and skipjack)
ounces
How Much Should You Eat?

The US Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends pregnant women eat 8-12 oz of seafood that’s lower in mercury each week. This equals 2-3 servings that are about the size of the palm of your hand.

Other Healthy Fish

These fish are low in contaminants but don’t have as much omega-3:

  • Catfish (farm-raised)
  • Clams
  • Cod
  • Crab (Blue, King and Snow)
  • Crawfish
  • Croaker (Atlantic)
  • Flounder
  • Haddock
  • Oysters (cooked)
  • Perch (ocean)
  • Pollock
  • Scallop
  • Sole
  • Tilapia
  • Whiting (also known as Hake)
catfish
clams
local fish
What about Local Fishing?

Fishing for your own seafood is fun and it’s great if you have friends or family that provide you with fresh-caught fish! But local lakes and rivers can be polluted with chemicals too, so watch out for advisories posted at each body of water. There are specific guidelines posted for pregnant women and children about how much of each fish is safe to eat in a week. For fish from waters that don’t have any posted guidance, eat only one serving a week and don’t eat any other fish. For locally caught fish, remove the skin, fat, and internal organs before cooking.

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Find local fish advisories here:
https://fishadvisoryonline.epa.gov/Contacts.aspx

Fish to Avoid

These fish have excessive mercury or other environmental chemicals found in some waters. They are not safe for pregnant and breastfeeding women to eat.

  • Golden snapper
  • Jack (Amber, Crevalle)
  • King Mackerel
  • Marlin
  • Orange roughy
  • Raw fish (like ceviche and sushi)
  • Shark
  • Spanish Mackerel (Gulf of Mexico)
  • Swordfish
  • Tilefish (Gulf of Mexico)
  • Tuna (bigeye)

Tuna during pregnancy – Yes or No?

Canned tuna is tasty, relatively cheap and easy to prepare. In general, canned light and skipjack tuna are low in mercury. The FDA says it’s ok for pregnant women to eat 8-12 oz of canned light tuna per week, which is 2-3 servings. Choose tuna packed in water. Albacore is much higher in mercury and should be limited to 4 oz. a week. When in doubt, talk with WIC or your healthcare provider.

Remember, fish really is brain food, so be wise and eat seafood weekly!

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For more information visit:

https://www.fda.gov/food/consumers/advice-about-eating-fish

REFERENCES:

NIH. Front Cell Neurosci. 2019; 13: 62.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6414196/#:~:text=Prenatal%20zinc%20deficiency%20resulting%20from,subtle%20neurological%20and%20cognitive%20impairments.

NIH. PubMed. Iodine status and supplementation before, during, and after pregnancy.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32792134/

NIH. Iodine Contents in Prenatal Vitamins in the United States. 2017 Aug 1; 27(8): 1101–1102.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5912719/

NIH. Nutrients. Choline: Exploring the Growing Science on Its Benefits for Moms and Babies
2019 Aug; 11(8): 1823.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6722688/

FDA. Fish advice for pregnancy.
https://www.fda.gov/food/consumers/advice-about-eating-fish

Fish4Health. Find the Best Fish for You.
https://fish4health.net/eating-fish/find-the-best-fish-for-you/

Science Direct. Persistent and toxic chemical pollutants in fish consumed by Asians in Chicago, United States.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969721072909

Consumer Reports. How Worried Should You be about Mercury in Your Tuna?
February 9, 2023.
https://www.consumerreports.org/health/food-safety/how-worried-should-you-be-about-mercury-in-your-tuna-a5041903086/

Author:
Bridget Swinney MS, RDN, LD

Feeding a 6-7 Month Old

Feed solids with a spoon and from a bowl, never from a bottle.

Feeding a 10-12 Month Old

Breast milk is the most important source of nutrition for your baby, even after you start offering solid foods.

Feeding a 8-9 Month Old

Feed solids with a spoon. Never put cereal in a bottle.

Tips

Mom new born home

Breast milk and formula feeding:

Around 2-3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months of age, babies may experience a growth spurt when they feed more often.

As they grow babies can hold more milk, so feedings may become further apart and take less time.

To prevent choking, always hold your baby when feeding. Never prop up a bottle to feed.

Start offering whole milk when your baby is one year old.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months and that breastfeeding continue for at least 12 months and beyond.

feeding solid foods

Feeding solid foods:

Wait to offer solid foods until your baby:

  • Can sit up and hold up their own head.
  • Opens their mouth when they see food.
  • Can close their lips around a spoon.

To prevent choking, always hold your baby when feeding. Never prop up a bottle to feed.

Try one new food at a time. Wait 5 days before trying another new food to watch for allergies. Food allergies may include wheezing, rash, or diarrhea.

Introduce peanut butter around 6 months. Spread a small, thin smear of peanut butter or nut butter thinly on a cracker.  Watch your baby for any reaction for the next 2 hours.

Babies under one year should NOT have honey due to the risk of botulism. Also, babies should not have foods that can cause choking like nuts or whole grapes.

All babies are different. Talk with WIC or your baby’s healthcare provider about your baby’s needs.

Feeding Cues

Feeding a 4-5 Month Old

Before teeth come in, wipe gums with a soft, clean wash cloth after each feeding, especially before bed.

Feeding a 0-3 Month Old

Newborns have tiny tummies and need to be fed often. In the first few weeks, you may need to wake your baby to feed if they sleep longer than 4 hours.

Growth Spurts

Many babies are fussy during a growth spurt and will want to nurse longer and more often. This is called cluster feeding. This is your baby’s way of helping you increase your milk supply so that you can keep up with their needs. Remember, the more your baby nurses, the more milk your body makes.

Growth spurts can happen at any time, and every baby is different.

They often happen at these ages:

two-three-weeks

2 to 3 Weeks

6 Weeks

three-months

3 Months

six-months

6 Months

What foods can I get?

Authorized Food List
Authorized Food List

Where can I shop?