Are clams safe during pregnancy?

What does the evidence say about clams during pregnancy?

1. Clams average 0.009 parts per million of mercury in FDA sampling, the second-lowest entry on a table sorted from lowest to highest. 1
2. Clams are a Best Choice at 2 to 3 servings a week, and they also make the shorter list of species low enough in mercury to be fed to young children in larger amounts. 2
3. Three ounces of cooked clams supply 17 mcg of vitamin B12, which is 708 percent of the Daily Value, against a pregnancy recommended intake of 2.6 mcg a day. 3
4. Clams, mussels, and oysters open their shells during cooking and any that stay closed should be thrown out, and shellfish with cracked or broken shells should be discarded before cooking, with a live clam closing when its shell is tapped. 4
5. Raw shellfish carries Vibrio parahaemolyticus, which produces cramping, nausea, vomiting, and fever roughly 17 hours after the meal, and thorough cooking is what removes that route. 5

Is clams safe in each trimester?

• First trimester. Clams are one of the densest B12 sources in the food supply, which is useful early if you are queasy and eating small amounts. Buy them alive with unbroken shells, keep them cold, and cook them the day you buy them. Raw clams on the half shell are the version to skip throughout.
• Second trimester. The shell is your doneness indicator, which makes clams easier to judge than most seafood. Steam until they open, then discard any that refused. This is also a good trimester to be picky about the source, since bivalves filter the water they sit in and where they came from matters.
• Third trimester. Clams stay a Best Choice to the end. The one practical note late in pregnancy is that clam dishes are often salty, from the shellfish liquor as much as from added salt, so if you are watching swelling or blood pressure that is worth a mention at a visit rather than a reason to skip them.