Fish Safe for Pregnant Women to Eat

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Another study found that the FDA/EPA warning caused 56 percent of pregnant women to limit their fish consumption to levels below beneficial amounts, out of fear that fish may harm their developing baby.

Roman said that women who want to become pregnant, are pregnant or are breast-feeding should eat a minimum of 12 ounces per week of fish such as salmon, tuna, sardines and mackerel, without fear. For women who can't eat fish, the researchers recommended fish oil supplements as a good alternative.

Eating fish is the best way to get the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Roman noted that selenium, a mineral found in some ocean fish, appears to protect against the harmful effects of mercury. "You have to look at fish as a whole, not at just one element in fish," she said.

One expert thinks that not getting enough omega-3 fatty acids is more dangerous for an infant's health than the danger posed by trace amounts of mercury in some fish.

"There is a direct difference between these recommendations and the current FDA/EPA recommendations," said Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, an assistant professor of medicine and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. "This is a dramatic difference."

"Based on the data, I would agree with these recommendations," said Mozaffarian, who co-authored a 2006 study that endorsed fish consumption. "The evidence for the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids in neuron development is at least as strong as the evidence for harm from mercury. Not getting enough omega-3 fatty acids is dangerous in itself."

Another expert also agreed with the new recommendations.

"I think these researchers follow the science," said Dr. Gary J. Myers, a professor of neurology and pediatrics at the University of Rochester Medical Center, in New York.

The only time mercury in fish has been shown to be harmful has been in industrial pollution in Japan, Myers said. "There has never been another case reported anywhere else in the world related to fish consumption," he said.

More information

For more on fish and pregnancy, visit the American Pregnancy Association.