Safe Seafood To Eat During Pregnancy

I found this very informative for all women who are pregnant like me. I research this because I accidentally ate oyster and I felt un-comfort inside my tummy. I Felt the baby was shaking after 5 hours I ate oyster. So, I went online and look up if this seafood are safe to eat when pregnant. And I was stunt when I read this info. I would never do it again. Hope this would be helpful to all people doesn't know what to eat or not.

....Most fish and shellfish are safe to eat in pregnancy, provided that they are properly cooked. Some types of sushi (such as steamed crab and cooked eel), are fine to eat while you're pregnant. However, you may prefer to avoid eating the kinds that contain raw seafood.

Fresh, raw seafood is potentially risky because it can contain parasites such as tapeworms, which, if they grow large enough, could rob your body of nutrients needed for your growing baby. Freezing and cooking kills the parasites. For this reason, many Japanese restaurants that specialise in sushi use frozen rather than fresh fish. You may like to ask a restaurant if they do freeze fish before serving it raw. Many restaurants lightly sear fresh fish on the outside, then serve it rare, but you may be safer if you order it well cooked.

Oysters and other shellfish should be avoided during pregnancy, unless they are part of a hot meal and have been thoroughly cooked. This is because, when they are raw, these types of seafood might be contaminated with harmful bacteria and viruses that can cause food poisoning. Pregnant women are particularly susceptible to food poisoning because pregnancy suppresses their immune systems. The bacteria and viruses are usually killed by proper cooking making these shellfish safe to eat.

For seafood safety at home, you should cook most seafood to an internal temperature of 63 degrees C/145 degrees F for 15 seconds. If you don't have a thermometer, the guidelines listed below can help you to determine whether seafood is done.

• For fish: slip the point of a sharp knife into the flesh and pull aside. The edges should be opaque and the centre slightly translucent, with flakes beginning to separate.

• Let the fish stand three to four minutes to finish cooking.

• Prawns and lobster turn red when cooked; the flesh becomes pearly opaque. Scallops appear milky white or opaque and firm.

• For clams, mussels, and oysters, watch for the point at which their shells open, which indicates that they're done. Throw out those that remain closed after cooking.

• When microwaving seafood, rotate the dish several times to ensure even cooking. After letting the dish stand, check seafood in several spots with a thermometer to see if it has reached the proper temperature.

One concern about seafood, raw or cooked, is contamination with environmental pollutants, such as PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and dioxins.
It's recommended that pregnant women avoid eating too much oily fish as it tends to have more of these pollutants than white fish. You should eat some oily fish, though, as the omega-3 fatty acids and other vitamins and nutrients it contains are good for you and your developing baby. Limit your intake to two portions a week. There are plenty to choose from, including:

• salmon
• trout
• mackerel
• herring
• sardines
• pilchards
• kipper
• eel
• whitebait
• fresh tuna
• anchovies

Pregnant women should avoid eating shark, swordfish and marlin altogether because of the high levels of mercury in these fish, which could harm your baby's developing nervous system. You also need to limit how much tuna you eat as this also contains relatively high amounts of mercury

Information Source: Baby Center