Can You Eat Crab While Pregnant? You Need To Know This Now!

Are you conscious of the foods that you get to eat? Do you doubt if you can eat crab while pregnant? Have you heard of stories about crabs and pregnancy and babies?

Perhaps, you have heard of a story about it. Indeed, it is important for you to know what you eat, especially if you are conceiving a child. It would totally be a bad idea if you would just devour the foods that you crave for. This might just affect your health and that of the baby when you give birth.

Is It Safe To Eat Crab While Pregnancy?

It is important for you to eat seafood when you are pregnant. Crab is an example of one which you should take on a regular basis since it has Omega 3 acid and vitamin B, the essentials to be a source of nutrients for the baby inside your womb.

However, given that you are having an immune system that is quite overloaded, it might be hard for it to fight against the harmful substances that come with your food. Crabs and other seafood may have mercury content and other harmful substances so you really have to be cautious in deciding whether to eat it or not. It is commonly recommended that you should have a 12-ounce seafood intake in a week. But since crabs can have a higher level of mercury, you are allowed to take only 6-ounce crabs per week.

Harmful Substances

Mercury content

The mercury content of a seafood can be very harmful to your baby. It can interrupt with the development of the fetus’s brain as well as of its nervous system. Although the meat of crabs has low mercury content, it is still advisable to be taken in moderation.

Preparation of the crab

Since you are prone to illnesses due to harmful bacteria and whatnot, it is recommended that you only eat frozen crabs. This is to make sure that it is not contaminated. Crabs sealed in a can are also best advised to eat.

It is important that you eat seafood. They are rich in vitamins and fatty acids that can help with the growth of your baby, especially in his or her eye and brain development.

Tips

Here are some additional tips for you.

Do not eat raw seafood

It is truly important that you take note of this. You should not eat raw seafood as these may still contain harmful parasites that could give you diseases and even miscarriage and birth defects on your baby.

You have to remember that your immune system at this moment is not strong enough to battle with the harmful bacteria that may come inside your body. Moreover, your baby’s immune system is still in the process of strengthening itself and so it cannot fight the bacteria itself.

Do not eat seafood that is heavy on mercury

A lot of fishes contain mercury. You will have to steer clear of them to avoid having problems with your baby. It would greatly help if you do not take fishes such as sharks and marlins, among others.

Also, you might opt for a canned tuna. This is a common thing that pregnant women do, but still, only eat moderate amounts of it. Research has found out that it is also one of the biggest sources of mercury that is being devoured.

Eating a variety of seafood will also help

Since you can only consume 12 ounces of seafood per week to be considered safe, it would be best if you keep a variety of it. Research has found out that even though you double the ounce of consumption per week, it wouldn’t have a grave effect on you. This can be your hack if you are a seafood lover yourself.

Be critical in choosing your food

Make sure that when your order of seafood is served, it is still hot. Don’t accept it if is lukewarm because there is a chance that it has been undercooked. If so, it could be very dangerous for you.

Undercooked seafood is kind of similar to that of the raw foods. It can still contain contaminants that can definitely harm you and your baby. Make sure that when it gets to be delivered to you, you are critical of its appearance and for the way it has been prepared.

Take extra precaution for the things that you do

If, for example, you are the one preparing your food, make sure that you use a separate knife for raw materials. This would keep your kitchen and your foods from contamination that your raw food may have. Also, you have to wash the slicing board right after using to avoid accumulation of bacteria. You then have to store it in a safe and clean surface.

Leftovers that you want to keep should be stored in a refrigerator so that you can prevent bacteria from spreading. Those that are left in a room temperature for an hour or two should also be properly disposed of.

Conclusion

You can eat crab when you are pregnant. In fact, it is advisable for you to take seafood. However, since seafood can contain heavy mercury amount and contaminations, you are advised to take these in moderation. You are only allowed to have 12 ounces of seafood in a week, but if you go for a variety of them, you can have more than that.

Food preparation should also be taken into consideration. Be critical of the food that has been prepared for you to avoid complications and abnormalities for your developing baby.

Do you have additional questions? Do you have thoughts about it? Comment below and let us know.