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Can I eat prawns while pregnant?

Check Doola Scan's answer in the United States

Prawns cooked and eaten hot, in a curry, a stir-fry or with garlic, show Check in Doola Scan in all six countries: the check is how much seafood you eat in a week. Cold cooked prawns, as in a prawn cocktail, show Check in the US, UK and Canada and Avoid in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland, where the guidance names pre-cooked prawns. The NHS asks for cold, pre-cooked ready-to-eat prawns to be cooked until steaming hot, and raw prawns show Avoid in all six.

Checked against Doola Scan's pregnancy rules · Updated

  • Prawns cooked and eaten hot: garlic prawns, king or tiger prawns, prawn curry

    CheckIn all six countries

  • Cold cooked prawns and prawn cocktail

    CheckUnited StatesUnited KingdomCanadaAvoidAustraliaNew ZealandIreland
Doola Scan checking a plate
What each country says

Prawns while pregnant: what each country says.

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

  • United States

    Check
    • FDAFish is recommended but amounts limit mercury exposure.Source
    • FDAPreviously cooked seafood is lower risk when reheated to 165°F; partially cooked shrimp and crab are higher risk.Source
    Shop-bought prawn sandwiches
    • CDCAvoid premade deli salads such as coleslaw, potato, tuna or chicken salad; homemade is the safer choice.Source
    • FDAAvoid deli salads made on site without preservatives (ham, chicken, seafood salad).Source
    Raw prawns
    • FDAPeople at higher risk, including pregnant women, should avoid raw shellfish and their juices.Source
    • FoodSafety.gov (HHS)Avoid raw oysters, clams and scallops.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
    • NHSChilled ready-to-eat seafood can carry listeria.Source
    Shop-bought prawn sandwiches
    • NHSLow risk, but ready-to-eat chilled foods may contain listeria.Source
    Raw prawns
    • NHSRaw shellfish can carry bacteria, viruses or toxins.Source

  • Canada

    Check
    • Health CanadaLow-mercury fish encouraged with no weekly amount; limit only fresh/frozen tuna, shark, swordfish, marlin, orange roughy, escolar.Source
    Raw prawns
    • CPSAvoid raw shellfish such as oysters and clams.Source
    • Health CanadaAvoid raw oysters, clams and mussels; eat only when cooked until shells open.Source

  • Australia

    • Prawns cooked and eaten hot: garlic prawns, king or tiger prawns, prawn curryCheck
    • Cold cooked prawns and prawn cocktailAvoid
    • 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
    • NSW Food AuthorityDo not eat ready-to-eat chilled peeled prawns.Source
    • NSW HealthDo not eat chilled ready-to-eat prawns.Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Do not eat pre-cooked prawns.Source
    • Better Health Channel (Victoria)Avoid cooked, chilled seafood such as peeled prawns unless cooked again.Source
    • FSANZAvoid chilled cooked prawns; eat freshly cooked or reheated steaming hot.Source
    Shop-bought prawn sandwiches
    • Better Health Channel (Victoria)Avoid pre-prepared salads and other cold foods that will not be reheated.Source
    • FSANZAvoid pre-prepared/pre-packaged fruit or vegetable salads incl. buffets and salad bars; eat freshly prepared.Source
    • NSW Food AuthorityDo not eat pre-prepared or pre-packaged salads, sandwiches or wraps.Source
    • NSW HealthDo not eat pre-packed cold salads, including coleslaw.Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Avoid pre-prepared or pre-packaged salads, and cold meats from sandwich bars.Source
    Raw prawns
    • Better Health Channel (Victoria)Avoid raw oysters and other raw seafood.Source
    • FSANZAvoid raw oysters and other chilled raw seafood.Source
    • NSW Food AuthorityDo not eat raw seafood.Source
    • NSW HealthDo not eat raw seafood.Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)No raw oysters or other raw seafood.Source

  • New Zealand

    • Prawns cooked and eaten hot: garlic prawns, king or tiger prawns, prawn curryCheck
    • Cold cooked prawns and prawn cocktailAvoid
    • Health NZMost commonly eaten NZ fish can be eaten freely; low-mercury species need no restriction.Source
    • Health NZAvoid cooked ready-to-eat prawns.Source
    Shop-bought prawn sandwiches
    • Health NZAvoid pre-prepared or pre-packaged fruit or vegetable salads incl. buffets and salad bars.Source
    Raw prawns
    • Health NZAny raw shellfish, including marinated raw mussels: don't eat.Source

  • Ireland

    • Prawns cooked and eaten hot: garlic prawns, king or tiger prawns, prawn curryCheck
    • Cold cooked prawns and prawn cocktailAvoid
    • HSEAvoid clams, oysters, scallops, prawns, mussels - risk highest if pre-cooked.Source
    Raw prawns
    • HSEAvoid clams, oysters, scallops, prawns and mussels.Source
What to check

Before you eat prawns.

  1. Heat cold cooked prawns until steaming hot

    The NHS lists cold, pre-cooked ready-to-eat prawns among the foods to be careful with in pregnancy, and says they must be cooked until steaming hot. FSANZ says to eat prawns freshly cooked or reheated until steaming hot. NHS

  2. In Australia, New Zealand and Ireland, skip cold cooked prawns

    Pregnancy, Birth and Baby says not to eat pre-cooked prawns, Health NZ advises against cooked ready-to-eat prawns, and Ireland's HSE says the risk is highest if prawns are pre-cooked. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby

  3. Cook raw prawns until pearly and opaque

    The FDA says shrimp is cooked when the flesh becomes firm, pearly and opaque, and most seafood should reach 145°F. Health Canada's chart gives 74°C (165°F) for shellfish. FDA

  4. Count shrimp in your weekly fish

    The FDA asks pregnant women to eat 2 to 3 servings a week from its Best Choices list, and shrimp 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

Questions

About prawns
in pregnancy.

Prawns cooked and eaten hot show Check in all six countries. Cold cooked prawns show Check in the US, UK and Canada and Avoid in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland.

Prawn cocktail shows Check in the UK, US and Canada and Avoid in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland. The NHS asks for cold, pre-cooked prawns to be cooked until steaming hot, and a prawn cocktail is served cold.

A shop-bought prawn sandwich shows Check in the UK and Avoid in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland, under the guidance on pre-packaged sandwiches. The NHS asks for pre-packaged sandwiches containing shellfish to be kept chilled and eaten before the use-by date.

The FDA puts shrimp, which is what the US calls prawns, on its Best Choices list, its lowest-mercury group. Health Canada limits only fresh or frozen tuna, shark, swordfish, marlin, orange roughy and escolar.

The NHS lists cooked shellfish, prawns included, among the foods you can have in 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.

The guidance is the same in every trimester. Hot cooked prawns show Check from the first weeks to the third trimester, and the advice on cold and raw prawns applies all the way through.

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.