Fish Intake During Pregnancy and Early Cognitive Development of Offspring

The Scientific Paper:

J. L. Daniels, M. P. Longnecker, A. S. Rowland, and J. Golding. The ALSPAC Study Team. University of Bristol Institute of Child Health. Epidemiology. Vol. 15. pp. 394-402. 2004.

Review This Scientific Paper’s Abstract:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db
=PubMed&list_uids=15232398&dopt=Citation

The Purpose of this Study:
These scientists research the relationship between pregnant women who eat fish and how well their children mentally develop early in life. These scientists are looking for the potential benefits of pregnant women eating certain types of fish.

Some Background, Methods, Results, Caveats, and Other Select Points:

• This peer-reviewed, scientific paper was published in 2004.
• Fish is a source of many nutrients that can be beneficial during pregnancy, as well as a source of some hazardous chemical contaminants such as methylmercury.
• Earlier research of pregnant women eating fish has focused on possible bad effects caused by certain chemical contaminants found in fish and seafood. These two scientists believe that the potential benefits of pregnant women eating certain types of fish were relatively unexplored until 2004.
• Eating certain types of fish during pregnancy has the potential to improve the unborn child’s development because certain types of fish are a good source of iron and certain beneficial fatty acids (here, long chain omega fatty acids) which are necessary for proper development and function of the human brain and/or nervous system.
• These scientists believe that the potential for beneficial effects from eating certain types of fish with relatively low methylmercury levels has been relatively unexplored before 2004.
• When pregnant mothers ate certain types of fish and their infants also ate certain types of fish during the child’s first year of life, there were independently associated modest but consistently higher, developmental scores for language comprehension and social activity components of a certain scientific test given when the child was 15 months old - and on another scientific test when given when the child was 18 months old. Although small changes on these test results may have little clinical significance for any one child, these small changes on these test results could be important when considering subtle shifts in development in an entire human population.

A Bottom Line:
Eating moderate amounts of certain types of uncontaminated fish during pregnancy and infancy may benefit the child’s development.

Pregnant women who eat certain types of fish at about no more than 4 ounces per serving 1–3 times per week is within the limit of 12 ounces of certain types of fish that are low in methylmercury per week - as advised by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in March, 2004. Thus, this federal government national methylmercury advisory does not interfere with the potential benefits of eating certain types of fish as suggested by these scientists.

Find This Scientific Paper for Your Review:
Fish Intake During Pregnancy and Early Cognitive Development of Offspring. Epidemiology. Vol. 15. pp. 394-402. 2004.