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According to new research, pregnant women should eat more fish for proper development of their children. Eating seafood during pregnancy improves brain development. Children born to mothers who consumed 400g of oily fish each week while they were expecting had higher language and communication skills.
However, the researchers warned pregnant women to avoid eating anymore than this amount due to the potential effects of mercury. For the new study, researchers obtained blood samples from a small group of women in week 17 of gestation. Prenatal mercury exposure was also calculated by asking the women to report what they consumed halfway through their pregnancy.
Mothers then reported children’s language and communications skills at age five by filling out a questionnaire. Resaerchers then performed a statistical analysis to assess the impact of mercury. For mothers who ate less than 400g of seafood a week there were clear benefits, such children performed significantly better on the speech and language test, the researchers found.
maternal seafood intake during pregnancy was positively associated with the language and communication scales.
The NHS encourages pregnant women to eat fish because of the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids. However, they should avoid swordfish, shark and marlin because of high mercury levels. Consumption of tuna, which contains moderate levels of mercury, should be limited to two steaks a week or four cans, the NHS says.Pregnant women should also eat noT more than two portions a week of oily fish such as mackerel, sardines or salmon.
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