Re: Fertility food thank you/ Another question on supplements

[Guest guest]

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says that when pregnant, it's OK to

eat all fish except these:

shark

swordfish

king mackerel

tilefish

You can eat tuna, but in moderation--I think they recommend only once a

week, or something like that.

The reason you can't eat those fish is because they tend to have a higher

mercury content than other types of fish. A high level of mercury can

affect a developing baby's nervous system.

One representative from the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition

says pregnant women safely can eat 12 ounces of other types of cooked fish

each week:

http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/qa-sea1.html

Parentsplace.com has a good article entitled " Seafood and Pregnancy: What's

Safe -- and What's Not " :

http://www.parentsplace.com/pregnancy/trimester1/articles/0,,239002_613747,00.ht\

ml

From what I understand about fish oil, it should be safe to take while

trying to conceive and during pregnancy. A report published in the British

Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology says that fish oil supplements may

help prevent preterm births in women who are at high risk for the pregnancy

complication:

http://www.parentsplace.com/pregnancy/complications/articles/0,,239049_115198,00\

..html

Preliminary research from an Australian study suggests that fish-oil

supplements taken during pregnancy might help prevent allergies in babies

who are at high risk for them:

http://yalenewhavenhealth.org/healthnews/reuters/20040116elin001.htm

Food restrictions were one of the hardest parts of pregnancy for me.

Pregnant women are advised to avoid deli meats because of the risk of

listeria, and many women have to avoid other foods because they cause

heartburn. For example, I couldn't eat chocolate or salty foods. On top of

that, I had an aversion to beef, even though I'm not a vegetarian. I ate a

lot of chicken and macaroni and cheese--and actually lost weight while

pregnant (I was 30 pounds overweight to start with). My doctor had me drink

Ensure nutritional drinks to make sure I was getting enough nutrition. I

gained 12 pounds during the pregnancy (pretty much all baby/placenta/etc.

weight, since my baby was 7 pounds, 10 ounces when she was born). I lost

the 12 pounds within the first month or so after my daughter's birth.

Of course, I'd do it all again if I have another baby. At least the second

time around, I'll be emotionally prepared for the chocolate moratorium at

Halloween

Cheryl

At 07:22 AM 1/20/2004 -0800, you wrote:

>Here's another question... Since fish and shellfish are not recommended to

>be eaten by pregnant women, should I stop taking my fish oil tablets now

>before i even am pg? I take it for the vit E and the Omega 3 fatty acid

>complexes.