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Can I eat cod while pregnant?

Check Doola Scan's answer in the United States

Cod cooked through, baked, poached, battered or as salt cod, shows Check in Doola Scan in all six countries: it counts towards your weekly fish. The FDA lists cod among its Best Choices, its lowest-mercury group, at 2 to 3 servings a week. The NHS names cod as a white fish, and its weekly limits are for oily fish and tuna. Health Canada sets no weekly amount for low-mercury fish. Cod liver oil is different: it shows Avoid in the UK and Canada, for vitamin A.

Checked against Doola Scan's pregnancy rules · Updated

  • Cod fillets or loin, baked, poached or grilled

    CheckIn all six countries

  • Battered or fried cod, as in fish and chips

    CheckIn all six countries

  • Salt cod (bacalao, bacalhau)

    CheckIn all six countries
Doola Scan checking a plate
What each country says

Cod while pregnant: what each country says.

Each country's own pregnancy guidance on cod, with a link to it. Doola Scan uses your country's first.

  • Doola has no source from Ireland on this yet; its answer comes from the other countries' guidance.

  • United States

    Check
    • FDAFish is recommended but amounts limit mercury exposure.Source
    Cod liver oil
    • ACOGACOG lists fish liver oils as a good vitamin D source in pregnancy; warns only against doubling or tripling vitamin A supplement doses.Source
    • MotherToBabyPreformed vitamin A (animal foods, retinol) has an upper limit of 3,000 mcg a day; over 20,000 IU/day linked to birth defects.Source
    • ACOGACOG recommends liver among iron-rich foods in pregnancy; no advice to avoid liver.Source
    • MotherToBabyPreformed vitamin A from animal foods such as liver: stay under the 3,000 mcg/day upper limit; very high intakes linked to birth defects.Source
    Black cod (sablefish)
    • FDAHigher mercury than Best Choices.Source

  • United Kingdom

    Check
    • NHSTrying for a baby or pregnant: max 2 oily fish portions (140g) a week; tuna max 4 cans or 2 steaks a week.Source
    Cod liver oil
    • NHSHigh in vitamin A (retinol), which can harm a baby's development.Source
    • NHSLiver is very high in vitamin A, which can harm a baby's development.Source
    Black cod (sablefish)
    • NHSTrying for a baby or pregnant: no more than 4 cans or 2 tuna steaks a week; other species not limited.Source

  • Canada

    Check
    • Health CanadaLow-mercury fish encouraged with no weekly amount; limit only fresh/frozen tuna, shark, swordfish, marlin, orange roughy, escolar.Source
    Cod liver oil
    • Health CanadaPregnant women should avoid cod liver oil, especially with a multivitamin (vitamin A).Source
    • Health CanadaLimit (not avoid) liver and cod liver oil; stay under 3000 mcg RAE vitamin A a day.Source
    Black cod (sablefish)
    • Health CanadaCanned albacore tuna up to 300 g a week; other moderate fish not limited.Source

  • Australia

    Check
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Other fish or seafood no more than 2 to 3 times a week (150 g serve).Source
    Cod liver oil
    • Better Health Channel (Victoria)Liver is not recommended for women who are or could be pregnant (vitamin A).Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Avoid liver or liver products: high vitamin A can harm the baby.Source
    Black cod (sablefish)
    • FSANZ1 portion (150 g) a week of orange roughy or catfish and no other fish that week.Source

  • New Zealand

    Check
    • Health NZMost commonly eaten NZ fish can be eaten freely; low-mercury species need no restriction.Source
    Cod liver oil
    • Health NZLiver only in small amounts, no more than 100 g a week (vitamin A).Source
    Black cod (sablefish)
    • Health NZLonger-lived fish (snapper, albacore, farmed salmon, kahawai, red cod, ling) less than 3-4 times a week.Source

  • Ireland

    Check
    Cod liver oil
    • HSEAvoid liver, including liver sausage, haggis and pâté containing liver.Source
What to check

Before you eat cod.

  1. Cook it until it flakes

    The FDA asks for most seafood cooked to 145°F, and says fish is done when the flesh is clear and separates easily with a fork. Health Canada gives 70°C (158°F) for fish. FDA

  2. Count cod in your weekly fish

    The FDA asks pregnant women to eat 2 to 3 servings a week from its Best Choices list, and cod is on it. A serving is 4 ounces, about the size of your palm. In Australia, Pregnancy, Birth and Baby says most fish and seafood no more than 2 to 3 times a week. FDA

  3. Skip cod liver oil supplements

    The NHS says fish liver oil is high in vitamin A, which can harm a baby's development, and Health Canada says pregnant women should avoid cod liver oil, especially with a multivitamin. Cod liver oil shows Avoid in the UK and Canada. NHS

Questions

About cod
in pregnancy.

The FDA puts cod on its Best Choices list, its lowest-mercury group. Health Canada limits only fresh or frozen tuna, shark, swordfish, marlin, orange roughy and escolar.

Battered and fried cod show Check in all six countries, for the weekly fish amount. The NHS notes that frying can increase the fat content of fish, especially in batter.

Cod liver oil shows Avoid in the UK and Canada and Check in the US, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland. The NHS says fish liver oil is high in vitamin A, which can harm a baby's development.

The FDA lists cod among its Best Choices for pregnancy. The FDA says fish supply omega-3 fats, iron, iodine and choline, which support a baby's brain development, as well as protein, vitamin B12, vitamin D and selenium.

Cod (bacalao), fresh or salted and cooked, shows Check in Doola Scan in all six countries, for the weekly fish amount. The FDA lists cod among its Best Choices, 2 to 3 servings a week.

Black cod, or sablefish, is a different fish, and the FDA lists it among its Good Choices, 1 serving a week. It shows Check in all six countries.

The guidance is the same in every trimester. Cod cooked through shows Check from the first weeks to the third trimester, within the weekly fish amount.

Yes. Take a photo of the plate, the menu or the label, and Doola Scan checks every ingredient against your country's pregnancy guidance. Food scans are free, 3 a day.
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Doola shows what official guidance says; it never diagnoses. No known issues means none of these countries' pregnancy guidance names it, not a promise that a food is safe.