Fish intake and repercussions in the newborn: pilot study
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Abstract
Introduction: fish has always been an important source of protein for humans. Objective: to ascertain whether fish intake during pregnancy can influence birth weight and gestational age at delivery. Methods: retrospective pilot study of a database compiled af
ter administration of a structured questionnaire and review of medical records of postpartum women and their infants. Information was collected on variables related to pregnancy, neonatal outcomes, and maternal fish and seafood intake. After application of the exclusion criteria, associations between variables were evaluated with the chi--square test (categorical variables) or Kruskal–Wallis test (continuous variables). The significance level was set at 0.05. Results: from a sample of 309 mother-child pairs, 40 were selected. Most (n = 38) lived in the municipality of Niterói. The mean maternal age was 24.8 years, and the mean number of antenatal care visits was 5.7. No neonates required resuscitation. The mean gestational age and weight at birth were 39.2 weeks and 3,224.2 g, respectively. Most women reported only sporadic fish intake (n = 11; 32.5%). Seven (17.5%) reported fish intake two or more times per week. Gestational age at birth was significantly different (p = 0.012) when compared to women who reported low vs. high frequency of fish intake. Conclusions: most women included in this study did not ingest the recommended amount of fish during pregnancy. Fish intake had no significant influence on birth weight; however, gestational age at birth was lower in the group that reported higher levels of fish intake.
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