Advice to pregnant women about avoiding eating certain types of fish should be changed - after scientists in Bristol studied thousands of local mums and another group on the other side of the world. Women in the UK are currently advised to avoid eating certain kinds of fish, and restrict how much of other types of fish they eat - but the new research suggests there should be no restrictions at all
The researchers in Bristol say that, after studying thousands of women in the city, the advice to avoid eating some fish while pregnant ends up potentially doing more harm than good, and the dangers of certain kinds of fish are over-stated. The researchers in Bristol analysed the health and diets of a total of 4,131 pregnant women in Bristol who had children back in 1991 and 1992 in the Children of the 90s study - and their children who have since had their own children.
And they also looked at a similar study involving women in the Seychelles, where women eat lots more fish than in Bristol, and now say the official advice is too cautious. The study has concluded that complicated warnings for pregnant women about eating fish means women steer clear of fish altogether, when eating fish is actually really good for unborn babies, and outweigh any dangers.
