Can you eat shrimp while pregnant?

What to avoid

• Level E FDA: Partially cooked seafood, such as shrimp and crab (chart «Do not eat», Seafood row) FDA, Food Safety for Pregnant Women and Their Unborn Babies (booklet), 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 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

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: Shrimp, lobster, crab, and scallops Cook until flesh is pearly or white, and opaque (Safe Minimum Internal Temperature chart row (cells joined by a space)) FoodSafety.gov, Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures, accessed 2026-10-12
• Level E FDA: Cook shrimp, lobster, and crab until they turn red and the flesh is the color of pearls. FDA, Food Safety for Pregnant Women and Their Unborn Babies (booklet), 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.

USDA FoodData Central, Crustaceans, shrimp, mixed species, cooked, moist heat (may contain additives to retain moisture). It has 135 calories. Daily Values are the standard adult label values, not pregnancy targets.

• Level C Across 46 studies of pregnancy, breastfeeding and the first two years, shellfish eating tracked with higher contaminant biomarkers, mercury above all, and several studies linked it to lower birth weight. Nutr Res Rev, 2025
• Level E FDA and EPA list both shrimp and American and spiny lobster as Best Choices, so people who are pregnant or breastfeeding may eat 2 to 3 servings of 4 ounces a week of either. FDA and EPA, Advice about Eating Fish, page current as of 2024-03-05
• Level E FDA and EPA list both salmon and shrimp among the Best Choices lowest in mercury and advise people who are pregnant or breastfeeding to eat 8 to 12 ounces of such seafood a week. FDA, Advice about Eating Fish

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.

Shrimp is one of the lowest-mercury seafoods, a mean of 0.009 ppm across 40 FDA samples. FDA and EPA advise 8 to 12 oz a week of lower-mercury seafood in pregnancy, and shrimp counts toward it (Level E). A 4 oz serving of cooked shrimp has 25.8 g of protein and 154 mg of choline.

The risk is in how it is cooked. FDA's pregnancy booklet lists partially cooked seafood such as shrimp and crab among foods not to eat. Cook shrimp until the flesh is pearly or white and opaque.

One review of 46 observational studies of pregnancy, breastfeeding and the first two years found that eating shellfish tracked with higher contaminant markers, mercury above all, and several studies linked it to lower birth weight (Level C). It did not separate shellfish species and cannot say whether shrimp within the FDA and EPA amounts carries that risk.

Evidence behind this note

1. Level E FDA and EPA list both salmon and shrimp among the Best Choices lowest in mercury and advise people who are pregnant or breastfeeding to eat 8 to 12 ounces of such seafood a week. FDA, Advice about Eating Fish
2. Level C Across 46 studies of pregnancy, breastfeeding and the first two years, shellfish eating tracked with higher contaminant biomarkers, mercury above all, and several studies linked it to lower birth weight. Nutr Res Rev, 2025

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

• Shrimp: what the research says
• Can you eat shrimp raw?