can you eat sushi if pregnant?

Answer 1

Apparently no one on yahoo answers is Japanese today. You should be careful what kind of raw fish you eat, but you should be just as careful about meats as well. Personally, I'd rather eat fresh sushi from a reputable place every day than 1 Mcdonald's or Taco Bell meal.

If sushi is that much of a risk, then why haven't we seen a myriad of reports of birth defects and fetal deaths from places like Japan, where pregnant women eat it every day?

You obviously need to be smart and careful with what you eat, but these blanket statements that "sushi is bad" are not helpful because they're overgeneralizations, and therefore not true.

Answer 2

I am pretty sure that you are not supposed to eat sushi while pregnant because it is raw---some cooked sushi maybe, but a lot of meat has stuff in it that pregnant women should not even come near, let alone eat. i would say ask your doctor, and if you disagree or agree with them, then use your better judgement and eat it at your own risk! Good luck and be safe!

Answer 3

ok there is a difference between sushi and sushimi (spelling?). Sushi does not usually contain raw fish. Mostly rice, seaweed, vegetables. Some contain fish eggs, you will need to refrain from this. The main concern is mercury. This is why children are not supposed to eat fish until about age 2, especially tuna, macrel, and shark whether it is fresh, canned or cooked.

Basically, anything that you would not give a 1 yr old, don't eat yourself.

Good luck.

Answer 4

No unless it is california (cooked) sushi, we call it fake sushi. I always get cravings for it when I am pregnant however since most sushi places are not known for being super clean I never have trusted the "california sushi" and just go without, cant have it if you breast feed either

Answer 5

Yes, with certain restrictions. You should not eat any raw fish, due to risk of food-borne illness. There are plenty of types of sushi with just vegetables, or cooked fish (california rolls, unagi rolls, cucumber/avocado etc rolls). You should only go to restaurants where you feel comfortable with their level of 'cleanliness'. For those who have mentioned that pregnant women should not eat ANY fish, cooked or not - the current recommendations are that pregnant/lactating women should avoid eating 'predator' fish like shark, swordfish, fresh tuna etc as they can have high accumulations of mercury in their flesh (from years of eating other fish). However smaller fish, and canned tuna have such low levels of mercury (or none at all) that they are considered safe to eat for pregnant women. Fish can be a great source of omega 3 fatty acids, which may be beneficial in the development of the fetuses brain!

Answer 6

No, you should not eat sushi whilst pregnant. IN fact, no canned tuna and not much fish while pregnant due to mercury levels in the fish.


http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/mercury/sushi.asp

Answer 7

It seems to fall under the category of stuff you're supposed to worry about because, well, if there was something wrong with it, what would be fine for just about anybody else would be risky for a pregnant woman. You know: eat bad sushi normally, throw up, forget about it. Eat bad sushi while pregnant, throw up, sicken the foetus, etc.

"When people eat raw, uncooked, or improperly or inadequately cooked/handled seafood, they are taking health risks. Illnesses that may develop include hepatitis A, worms, parasites, viral intestinal disorders, and other diseases." (from http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/1464....

Yeah, great. So?

"...because pregnancy suppresses your immune system a little, you're much more susceptible to serious illness from any food-borne organism. A parasitic infection probably couldn't get through the placental barrier since the placenta is a pretty good filter for blocking out things. But a parasitic infection could cause you liver or gastrointestinal problems that would then affect your baby. Some parasitic infections can lead to anemia or serious malnourishment in the mother or even cause miscarriage."
(from http://www.babycenter.com/plus/safe/ques...

It seems to be an entirely theoretical risk. Anybody who's not looking to cover themselves in case somebody wants to sue says stuff like "There is no good reason to avoid sushi in pregnancy. No studies exist that show that it's bad for expecting mothers or fetuses. Thousands if not millions of Japanese women have eaten sushi during pregnancy with no ill effects. I'm eight weeks pregnant myself, and I asked my (Guatemalan MD) midwife, who has attended 500 births, about sushi. She said it was fine." (from http://www.xtcian.com/arch/001974.php)...

There was a person here a little while ago whose doctor told her to avoid "delis." Deli meat? Deli cheese? Deli potato salad and soda pop? What on earth? Clearly, some people are a bit too paranoid.

Yet more anecdotal what-not: a friend of mine, with a PhD in biological chemistry, happily ate it throughout her pregnancies. Not without having looked in to it first.

The 'some parasites can cause miscarriage' idea does not sound sensibly scientific and medical. Which parasites? Are these magical miscarriage parasites present exclusively in sushi?

How often does one hear of _anybody_ getting sick from sushi? Hmm.

"In the past five years, 21 cases of fish-carried roundworm were reported to the California Department of Health Services. In 1980, four L.A. physicians came down with tapeworm after eating sushi, but no other outbreaks have been reported since then." http://www.metroactive.com/papers/cruz/0...
Not exactly conclusive, but rather telling that they had to go back to 1980.

I'm a vegetarian so not worried myself; just interested in the topic because it strikes me as yet another bit of pregnancy nonsense along the lines of "NO amount of alcohol is safe!" -- you know, bullsh!t.

Two things I did find interesting: home freezers are supposedly inadequate -- "Canada's Health Protection Branch recommends using only commercially frozen fish in raw fish dishes because home freezers will not kill the parasites" -- and some species of fish are thought to be more of a risk than others.

I'd stop worrying and use it as an excuse to only eat the very best sushi. You have my sympathy for having to worry about it only because thousands of people, professionals included, shut their brains down a bit when it comes to pregnancy.

Answer 8

NO!! The POSSIBILITY of contamination is too risky when your pregnant, you aren't even supposed to eat rare beef! Plus, some fish has a high content of mercury that is enough to harm a fetus, but not an adult.

Answer 9

I think you should steer clear of any uncooked/indercooked meats. Bacterias in uncooked food can cause Listeria, which can cause birth defects if you get it while pregnant. Not to mention food poision or a sick stomach is no fun anytime, but defintely not when prego!

Believe me...I cannot wait to have this baby and get some Sashimi!

Hang in there and good luck!

Answer 10

NO!!!! besides sushi like ewww...but if you still want to feel like your eating sushi, do california rolls, they have cooked fish i think