By Colleen Hurley, RD, Certified Kids Nutrition Specialist Certain fish can provide an excellent source of the essential fatty omega 3, a nutrient that is vital for healthy infant brain development. Years ago, expecting women were encouraged to consume fish to increase omega 3 intake, but that recommendation had tapered off due to the high amounts of mercury in fish from our polluted waters. A new study found that moderate consumption is most beneficial for both mother and baby. The study, conducted by Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Statens Serum Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark, looked at 25, 446 children born to women participating in the Danish Birth Cohort Study. The cohort study followed pregnant women from 1997 - 2002. Children of mothers who ate the most fish during pregnancy had an increased likelihood of better motor and cognitive skills. Prenatal diet was assessed via food frequency questionnaires administered at 6 months of pregnancy, including amounts and types of fish consumed on a weekly basis. The mothers were interviewed about their infants developmental milestones at 6 and 18 months post partum; breastfeeding inquiries were made at 6 months. Developmental markers included sitting up without support, crawling, responding to sounds, drinking from a cup, or walking unassisted. It wasnt just fish consumption that provided a boost in infant development; breastfeeding was also found to be independently beneficial. Longer duration of breastfeeding was associated with improved infant development, particularly at 18 months, most likely due to the concentration of omega 3 found in breast milk. On average, the women who consumed the most fish had children who were 25% more likely to have higher developmental scores at 6 months, increasing to a 30% advantage at 18 months. Breastfeeding fared similar to the fish consumption results; the longer the breastfeeding the more the enhanced development. What You Can Do In the US, women have been advised to keep fish consumption to no more than 2 servings per week due to potential toxicity of mercury. Most of the women in this study consumed fish low in mercury such as herring, salmon, and cod thus the nutrient benefits outweighed the risks. Be sure to talk to your physician about dietary choices throughout your pregnancy and visit the FDA's website to find a list of the mercury content of each type of fish. This way you can get the benefits of fish consumption, with a lower risk of getting too much mercury. Resource American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 88, No. 3, 789-796, September 2008 Associations of maternal fish intake during pregnancy and breastfeeding duration with attainment of developmental milestones in early childhood: a study from the Danish National Birth Cohort Emily Oken, et al.
译文:
婴儿成长——哈弗研究发现，孕妇吃鱼并用母乳喂养，下来的宝宝会更健康
By Colleen Hurley, RD,认证的儿童营养专家
某些鱼类可以提高人体必需的欧米茄-3脂肪酸，而这种营养对于健婴儿大脑的健康发育十分重要。几年前，我们会鼓励准妈妈们食用鱼类以提高欧米茄-3的摄入量,，但是由于生长在污水里的鱼类含有大量的汞，这项建议就慢慢被淡忘了。一项新研究发现，适度的食用对于母亲和婴儿都十分有益。
这项研究是由哈弗医学院，哈佛清教徒医疗保健公司和位于丹麦首都哥本哈根的斯坦藤斯—塞吕姆学院所共同进行，并对25，466对参加丹麦出生群研究的母子进行研究。这次研究涵盖了1997年至2002年的怀孕妇女。
在怀孕期间食用大量鱼类的孕妇所生下的孩子和其他孩子比起来，他们有拥有较好的起步和认知能力的可能性更大。孕期食谱是通过参照怀孕六月的食物频率调查问卷（包括每周消耗的数量和鱼的种类）来评估的。妈妈们被询问到有关于宝宝在产后6到18月的成长过程；母乳喂养的调查是在六个月的时候做的。发育指标包括没有支撑的坐下，爬行，对于声音的回应，从杯子里喝水，不需扶持地走路。
这不仅仅要归功于食用了可以促进婴儿发育的鱼类；母乳喂养也被证明对婴儿发育是有益的。时间较长的母乳喂养与改善婴儿发育也有很大联系，尤其是在18个月里，很大一部分的可能性来自于在母乳中发现的欧米茄-3。平均来说，食用大量鱼类的女性所生育的孩子多出25%的可能性在长到六月大的时候拥有更高的发展分数，等长到到18月的时候这个数字会提高到30%。母乳喂养的表现类似于食用鱼类的结果；更长期的母乳喂养会促进婴儿发育。
在美国你能做什么
由于汞的潜在毒性，妇女已经被告知保持鱼的消费不超过每周 2次。本研究中的大部分孕妇都食用了汞含量低的鱼类，如鲱鱼，鲑鱼和鳕鱼，从而降低了风险，收益了营养。
一定要在怀孕期间与你的医生探讨有关饮食选择问题，并且访问FDA的网址，了解每种鱼类的汞含量。通过这种方法，你可以在更低的摄入过多汞的危险下收获到食用鱼类的益处。
资料来源
美国《临床营养》杂志，总第88期 ，2008年九月第三期。
孕妇在怀孕期间的鱼类摄入量和母乳喂养持续时间与婴儿早期发育状况的联系：丹麦国家生产中心的一份研究。