Can you eat fish while pregnant?

What to avoid

• Level E FDA: So, individuals who could become or are pregnant or breastfeeding and young children should avoid these seven fish. FDA, Selecting and Serving Fresh and Frozen Seafood Safely, accessed 2026-10-12
• Level E ACOG: Do not eat bigeye tuna, king mackerel, marlin, orange roughy, shark, swordfish, or tilefish. ACOG, Nutrition During Pregnancy (FAQ), accessed 2026-10-12
• Level E FDA: Raw or undercooked fish or shellfish, or food containing raw or undercooked seafood (for example, sashimi) found in some sushi or ceviche. (FDA list of foods for at-risk groups to avoid: pregnant women, children, older adults, people with weakened immune systems) FDA, Selecting and Serving Fresh and Frozen Seafood Safely, accessed 2026-10-12
• Level E FoodSafety.gov: Raw seafood may contain parasites or germs, including Listeria, that can make pregnant women sick and could potentially harm their babies. FoodSafety.gov, People at Risk: Pregnant Women, accessed 2026-10-12
• Level E ACOG: You should also avoid raw fish and shellfish, including sushi. Raw fish has a higher risk of making you sick. ACOG, Nutrition During Pregnancy (FAQ), accessed 2026-10-12
• Level E FDA: Refrigerated smoked seafood and raw or undercooked seafood. («Make Safe Menu Choices», Higher Risk) FDA, Food Safety for Pregnant Women and Their Unborn Babies (booklet), accessed 2026-10-12

Amounts and limits

• Level E ACOG: Limit white (albacore) tuna to only 6 oz a week. ACOG, Nutrition During Pregnancy (FAQ), accessed 2026-10-12
• Level E FDA: Those who are pregnant or breastfeeding consume between 8 and 12 ounces per week of a variety of seafood from choices that are lower in mercury. FDA, Food Safety for Pregnant Women and Their Unborn Babies (booklet), accessed 2026-10-12
• Level E FDA: Goal: Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should eat 2 to 3 servings and children should eat 2 servings of a variety of fish each week from the “Best Choices” list. FDA, Selecting and Serving Fresh and Frozen Seafood Safely, accessed 2026-10-12
• Level E ACOG: You should eat two or three servings of fish or shellfish per week before getting pregnant, while pregnant, and while breastfeeding. ACOG, Nutrition During Pregnancy (FAQ), accessed 2026-10-12
• Level E FDA: If there is no advisory, eat only one serving and no other fish that week. FDA and EPA, Advice about Eating Fish, accessed 2026-10-12

Safer choices and when it is OK

• Level E FDA: Fully cooked fish that is firm and flaky. («Make Safe Menu Choices», Lower Risk) FDA, Food Safety for Pregnant Women and Their Unborn Babies (booklet), accessed 2026-10-12

How to cook or handle it

• Level E FoodSafety.gov: All seafood dishes should be cooked to 145°F (63°C). FoodSafety.gov, People at Risk: Pregnant Women, accessed 2026-10-12
• Level E FDA: Most seafood should be cooked to an internal temperature of 145°F. FDA, Selecting and Serving Fresh and Frozen Seafood Safely, accessed 2026-10-12
• Level E FoodSafety.gov: Fish (whole or filet), such as salmon, tuna, tilapia, pollock, bass, cod, catfish, trout, etc. 145°F (63°C) or cook until flesh is no longer translucent and separates easily with a fork (Safe Minimum Internal Temperature chart row (cells joined by a space)) FoodSafety.gov, Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures, accessed 2026-10-12

Word-for-word quotes from official US sources. Level E means the position of an expert body. How we grade evidence.

Mercury: FDA testing 1990 to 2012. Groups and servings: FDA and EPA advice for people who are or may become pregnant and those who are breastfeeding. A serving is 4 oz (113 g) before cooking.

• Level A A Cochrane review of 70 RCTs with 19,927 pregnant women found omega-3 fats, given as supplements or foods such as fish, cut preterm birth before 37 weeks by 11%. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2018
• Level C Across 32 US cohorts, any fish in pregnancy went with 16% lower odds of an autism diagnosis compared with no fish. Am J Clin Nutr, 2024
• Level C Official advice on fish in pregnancy exists and mostly fails to reach the people giving the advice. Environ Int, 2026
• Level C The USDA systematic review of seafood in pregnancy found that most studies did not separate seafood types, so tuna cannot be judged apart from other fish. USDA NESR, Seafood Consumption during Pregnancy and Lactation and Neurocognitive Development in the Child, 2020

Levels: A is a meta-analysis of trials, B a randomized trial, C an observational study, D lab or animal work, E an expert position. How we grade evidence.

Many common fish are Best Choices: salmon, pollock, cod, tilapia, catfish, canned light tuna and more. White (albacore) tuna is a Good Choice, so FDA and EPA put it at one 4 oz serving a week with no other fish that week, and ACOG limits it to 6 oz a week.

The strongest evidence on benefit is about omega-3 fats, mostly from capsule trials rather than fish itself. A Cochrane review of 70 trials found omega-3 cut preterm birth before 37 weeks by 11%, from 13.4% to 11.9% (Level A). Across 32 US cohorts, any fish in pregnancy went with 16% lower odds of an autism diagnosis (Level C), an observational link that does not prove cause.

Fish caught by family or friends is the exception. If there is no local advisory, FDA says to eat only one serving and no other fish that week.

Evidence behind this note

1. Level A A Cochrane review of 70 RCTs with 19,927 pregnant women found omega-3 fats, given as supplements or foods such as fish, cut preterm birth before 37 weeks by 11%. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2018
2. Level C Across 32 US cohorts, any fish in pregnancy went with 16% lower odds of an autism diagnosis compared with no fish. Am J Clin Nutr, 2024

Written from the agency positions and data on this page, reviewed by the Bioma editorial system. How we verify.

• Fish: what the research says
• Can you eat fish raw?