Dietary advice regarding oily fish intakes in pregnancy can be rather confusing. Recommendations are designed to encourage women to consume oily fish during pregnancy so as to provide important nutrients for the developing baby not found in other foods, but at the same time discourage future mothers from consuming too much oily fish because pollutants, which can contaminate the fish, may at high levels harm the developing baby.

There are now recommendations in place to ensure that pregnant woman have an adequate dietary supply of long chain omega 3 fatty acids. The UK government and the Food Standards Agency of the UK (see link) recommends that: Pregnant women and women of childbearing age should consume 2 portions of fish per week (of which at least one should be oily fish). 

Others have recommended an intake of 200 mg DHA/day for pregnant and lactating women. The European Food Safety Authority recently recommended 250 mg/day of EPA plus DHA for healthy adults with an additional 100 to 200 mg/day of DHA for pregnant women. 

The FAO/WHO (Food and Agriculture Organisation/World Health Organisation) recommend that pregnant women consume a minimum of 300 mg/day of EPA plus DHA of which at least 200 mg should be DHA. 

Long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. 

The quantitatively most important long-chain omega-3 fatty acids in the diet are EPA and DHA.Most recent evidence shows that the intake of EPA plus DHA is negatively related to cardiovascular risk in a dose-dependent way up to about 250mg/day (1–2 servings of oily fish per week) in healthy populations.

As stated by the UK Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) and the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT), the recommendation to eat at least two portions of fish weekly, of which at least one should be oily, represents a minimal and achievable average population goal and does not correspond to the level of fish consumption required for maximum nutritional benefis. It might be beneficial for some subgroups to consume more than the guideline recommendation.

Oily fish consumption in AquaMax study

In the AquaMax intervention study of health benefits of fish consumption by pregnant women the women chosen are those who normally have very low oily fish intakes (below the recommended amounts). They are asked to consume the recommended amount (2 portions per week) of an oily fish, salmon. However, the fish to be consumed by the women has been  farmed by techniques developed in AquaMax that produce fish that are highly nutritious with high levels of the desired long chain omega 3 fatty acids and, of equal importance, are essentially contaminant free.Thus, the risk to babies in the AquaMax study from possible contaminants in the fish consumed by their mothers has been essentially eliminated.
Within the Aquamax project the development of tailor-made salmon, with minimal contaminant levels and a high content of omega-3 fatty acids, has enabled the project to conduct the first nutritional intervention study on oily fish consumption in pregnancy.
The fish has been tested by scientists at the National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research (Norway) and found to be of an exceptional standard in both terms of safety and nutritional content. Using this salmon the research teams have evaluated health benefits of oily fish consumption on health, nutritional status and allergic disease in pregnant women and their infants. 

Click here to find more about the AquaMax Salmon used for the intervention study!