Is Seafood Good for Expectant Moms?
Premature births, or births before 37 weeks of pregnancy, increase a child’s risk for health problems: 60% of serious complications or deaths in newborns are related to preterm births. Greater-than-normal birth weights and longer gestation periods are common in Denmark’s remote Faroe Islands, where people eat plenty of fish. A study appearing in a recent issue of the British Medical Journal evaluated a possible link between seafood intake and longer gestation periods. Nearly 9,000 pregnant women in Denmark completed seafood-intake questionnaires at the 16th and 30th weeks of pregnancy. Seafood consumption included fish and shellfish, and was divided into four intake categories: never, 0-1 times monthly, 1-3 times monthly, or once or more per week. Women who consumed no fish were three-and-a-half times more likely to have preterm delivery than those consuming fish at least weekly. Incidence of preterm delivery fell progressively from 7% in women eating no fish to 2% in women eating fish
