If the government or some prestigious health organization tells me that I need to avoid something in order to protect my child, there is no question that I will follow that instruction. I am a first-born with first-born tendencies.  Besides being too bossy and obsessively on time, one of my most annoying first-born compulsions is that when someone in authority tells me to do something, 99.5% of the time, I do it. 

So, in my 4 ½ years as a pregnant and nursing mom, I have avoided certain fish because of their mercury content.  Why? Because the government and health organizations told me to avoid certain fish in order to protect my children from mercury exposure.  Easy, right?  Well, following the rules is always easy until folks start to muddy the waters.  Today, I opened the Washington Post to find the headline, “Mothers Again Urged to Eat Fish: Advisory at Odds With FDA Stance.” Ugh!  My internal conversation went between being bitter about having boycotted tuna-melt sandwiches all of these years and being seriously irritated that people are putting out information in a manner that is confusing. 

It isn’t confusing if you know the facts.  Here is the deal: it isn’t even a real, true change from what everyone has been saying for years.  Here is what you need to know:

FISH IS GOOD, MERCURY IS BAD.  IF YOU ARE A PREGNANT OR NURSING WOMAN, AVOID FISH THAT HAS A HIGH CONTENT OF MERCURY IN IT.  Pardon the caps but I wanted to make sure that all of you moms who have no time to read this entire blog can at least get the bottom line before you have to rush off to tend to boo-boos or, like me, need to take a conference call so you can leave work in time to make dinner.  

There are still some people who want more science about how much fetuses and babies are exposed to mercury by their moms but until that science is done, stick to the current American Academy of Pediatrics policy and FDA and EPA recommendations.  Avoid eating shark, tilefish, king mackerel and swordfish because of high mercury content, and eat no more than six ounces per week of albacore tuna.  If you want more information, not only can you go and visit their websites, but you can also visit NRDC’s site at www.nrdc.org/mercury. 

In the meantime, allow me to take a moment to talk directly to those much appreciated, prestigious health organizations and government officials who urge moms to eat fish:  Dear smart folks, I am a working mom.  I barely have time to take a shower much less keep up the pros and cons of each of your recommendations.  I understand that science changes, evolves and gets better but can you do me a favor and just be clear of what I need to do to protect my children?  If the mixed signals are confusing me – a person who actually works in the environmental world – than how are the other moms feeling? Thanks.