Group Gives Fishy Advice to Pregnant Women

Earlier this month, a respected group with a nurturing, motherly name recommended that pregnant women and nursing mothers ignore federal guidelines and eat more fish.

The advice by the board of the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition left pediatricians, health experts and others scratching their heads.

And consumers were justifiably confused, too. For several years now, government agencies and health-care experts have advised pregnant or breast-feeding women, as well as those who may become pregnant, to limit fish consumption because of mercury contamination. The same goes for young children.

The Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency recommend that these women limit their intake of fish to no more than 12 ounces a week, with no more than six ounces of albacore tuna. They should avoid swordfish, tilefish, king mackerel and shark all together because of high levels of mercury.

The new advice from the coalition instead calls for women to eat at least that amount of fish and more would be better, including previously banned fish.

So what gives?

The fishing industry apparently got its tentacles into the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition.

The Healthy Mothers group is composed of leading health-care groups such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Public Health Association.

But even some who belong to the coalition were among the head-scratchers over the new advice. They said they had no prior knowledge that it was to be announced by their umbrella organization.

The Food and Drug Administration, the March of Dimes Foundation and the American Academy of Pediatrics, as well as others, refuted the report and said they would not revise their guidelines.

Frank Greer of the American Academy of Pediatrics nutrition committee said he and others were “appalled” and said the report’s backing by the fisheries industry “is a real conflict of interest.”

Mercury is toxic. Research shows it can be harmful to brain development and to the nervous system. Too much of it can cause death.

In attempting to justify its position, the Healthy Mothers group said research shows benefits for babies in the omega-3 fatty acids in fish. No one disputes that _ omega-3 is a leading contributor to prevention of heart disease.

But the coalition also took note of research that shows a significant drop in the numbers of pregnant women who are eating fish, due probably to the government’s warnings.

Now is when things get smelly.

According to reports in The New York Times and elsewhere, the Healthy Mothers group received a $60,000 grant from the National Fisheries Institute, a fishing industry trade association, to spread its message of safe fish.

Each member of the association’s Maternal Nutrition Group, which drew up the recommendation to relax guidelines on fish consumption, received a $1,000 honorarium from the National Fisheries Institute.

An additional $500 went to four of the group’s executive committee members.

Whether that money tainted the group’s report is unclear, but let’s not be naive here.

The Maternal Nutrition Group is made up of physicians and nutrition experts. But financial ties to the fishing industry have ended its respectability as a source of unbiased consumer information.

Consumers are confused enough by the often conflicting research that reveals what is good for us to eat, what is bad, and what is OK if eaten in limited quantities. Women who are pregnant want to rely on the advice of experts in these matters.

They shouldn’t have to be concerned about information that may be skewed because of contributions from industries trying to sell a product.

The federal government and health groups that disavow this report should work hard to overcome the consumer confusion that it has created.

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ABOUT THE WRITER

Laura Scott is assistant editorial page editor at the Kansas City Star. Readers may write to her at: Kansas City Star, 1729 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, Mo. 64108-1413, or by e-mail at lascott@kcstar.com.

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