When can babies eat seafood?
We have no allergies in our family, so my daughter has had fish, shrimp, and lobster since she was nine months old. If you have no allergies in your family then most likely there won’t be a problem. Giving a baby a certain food before a certain age doesn’t cause allergies, it’s just that if the baby does have allergies the reaction could be worse.
People are going to tell you that if there is no history of allergies then your baby can eat seafood, not true. When dealing with seafood you aren’t worried about allergies alone but levels of mercury. Bottom feeding sea species like shrimp, lobster and crab have levels of high concentrate mercury. Our adult bodies have the weight and ability to ingest and break down that harmful mercury where as an infant doesn’t. High levels of mercury can lead to mild strokes.
Avoid If Pregnant, high levels of mercury Shark Swordfish King mackerel Tilefish Tuna steaks Canned tuna Sea bass Gulf Coast Oysters Marlin Halibut Pike Walleye White croaker Largemouth bass Eat No More Than One Serving From This List Per Month Mahi mahi Blue mussel Eastern oyster Cod Pollock Great Lakes salmon Gulf Coast blue crab Channel catfish (wild) Lake whitefish Lowest In Mercury Blue crab (mid-Atlantic) Croaker Fish Sticks Flounder (summer) Haddock Trout (farmed) Salmon (wild Pacific) Shrimp * * Shrimp fishing and farming practices have raised serious environmental concerns. ** Farmed catfish have low mercury levels but may contain PCBs in amounts of concern for pregnant women.
