Can Pregnant Women Eat Shrimp?

During the pregnancy process, a pregnant woman will always maintain the health condition of the body in order to provide the best effort to make the process of developing the fetus always in normal conditions. In the process of maintaining the condition of the pregnancy, pregnant women will carry out various businesses ranging from consuming healthy foods for pregnant women, consulting regularly with obstetricians and midwives regarding the development of their pregnancies regularly, to avoiding various kinds of things that can influence pregnancy.

Regarding matters that can have a negative influence on the pregnancy, in this article will review one of the foods that raises many questions related to safety, benefits, and its impact on pregnancy. The foods discussed in this article are shrimp. Shrimp is one type of seafood or more popularly called seafood with a good taste and much favored by people not likely to those who are pregnant. Here are some explanations about the question questions related to consumption of shrimp during pregnancy.


Can pregnant women eat shrimp ?

Some myths say that consuming shrimp during pregnancy will make the baby attacked by eczema later. It turns out that this myth is not entirely true because some opinions of health and pregnancy experts say that consuming shrimp during the pregnancy process is safe and does not have a bad impact. So far there have been no reports explaining the side effects of shrimp on pregnancy except allergic reactions in pregnant women which are already congenital diseases of pregnant women before the pregnancy process.

In addition to being safe because of the fact that there have never been reports regarding the side effects of shrimp in pregnant women, shrimp is also one of the seafood that does not contain mercury. Mercury is one of the dietary restrictions of pregnant women because it can have a detrimental effect on fetal development during pregnancy. Therefore, avoiding foods containing mercury is a must for pregnant women. That is the answer to the question may pregnant women eat these shrimp.

Are there benefits of shrimp for pregnancy?

Besides being safe for consumption, shrimp also has several benefits especially for pregnancy through some of its nutritional content. The nutritional content of shrimp such as vit D, vit C, choline, zinc, iron, iodine, copper, fatty acids, omega 3, omega 6, decosahexaenoic acid or DHA, and eicosapentaeonic acid or EPA and selenium. The benefits of shrimp for pregnant women are as follows.


  • Helping baby's brain development, the content of several proteins such as omega 3, omega 6, EPA, and DHA are nutrients that can help the brain development process.
  •  Improve the immune system, the content of vitamin C and some proteins and minerals contained in shrimp can help improve the mother's immune system so that it is not easy to experience pain.
  • Preventing anemia, anemia is one of the risks that can occur in pregnant women and can be helped by consuming shrimp because of its iron content and several other minerals.
  • Having a low calorie content, shrimp is one of the foods that are suitable for diet for pregnant women because the caloric content is quite low but has many benefits through other nutrients.
  • Helps the development process of the fetus, the high content of protein, minerals, and vitamins in shrimp can help fulfill nutrients related to fetal development in the womb of pregnant women.
  • Control cholesterol, the danger of high cholesterol for pregnant women must be controlled so as not to cause harmful effects, especially for women who before pregnancy have obesity problems. Consumption of shrimp can help control cholesterol for pregnant women.
  • Caring for the heart, the content of choline in shrimp can help treat the heart of pregnant women so as to avoid dangerous conditions during pregnancy.



Some of the benefits mentioned can be obtained by pregnant women if the shrimp is consumed correctly and precisely in accordance with the consumption rules. For a clearer medical explanation, consult with an obstetrician or midwife can be done before consuming shrimp.

How do you consume the right shrimp when you are pregnant?

Although shrimp is safe for consumption if pregnant women, there are still some limitations that must be considered. There is a limit to the number of shrimp that can be consumed by pregnant women with an estimate of not more than 350 grams during the week. Besides being related to the amount of shrimp that must be consumed there are other things that are also considered. Another thing that must also be considered in consuming shrimp for pregnant women is the condition of the shrimp to be consumed must be fresh and washed well and cooked until cooked so that no dirt or toxins can cause pregnancy disorders.

Those are some reviews about questions about shrimp consumption for pregnant women. If doubts arise regarding certain kinds of food consumed during pregnancy, it is better if before knowing the clarity of pregnant women, at least delaying the consumption of these foods in order not to become a problem in the future and even trigger certain bad conditions.

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