Can Pregnant Women Eat Shrimp? Yes, Cooked: Mercury, How Much, and What to Avoid

Pregnancy comes with a long list of foods to avoid, and seafood is where the advice gets confusing. Some fish are off the menu because of mercury, raw shellfish carries infection risks, and yet doctors also tell you to eat more fish. So where does shrimp fit?

The short version is good news, with one firm condition. This guide explains why cooked shrimp is one of the better seafood choices in pregnancy, how much is safe, which shrimp dishes to skip, and the same rules for two foods people often ask about at the same time: hot dogs and medium-rare steak.

Quick Answer

Yes, pregnant women can eat shrimp as long as it is fully cooked. Shrimp is low in mercury and is on the US Food and Drug Administration’s “Best Choices” list, which advises 8 to 12 ounces of lower-mercury seafood a week during pregnancy, about two to three servings. Eating seafood in pregnancy is linked to better child development: in a UK study of 11,875 mothers, children of women who ate no seafood were more likely to score in the lowest quarter for verbal IQ. Avoid raw or undercooked shrimp, such as ceviche or raw sushi, and cold smoked or ready-to-eat seafood, because of bacteria such as Listeria and Vibrio. Cook shrimp until the flesh is pearly and opaque. The same logic applies to hot dogs (heat until steaming) and steak (cook to at least medium, 145°F, and rest it).

In this guide:

• Is Shrimp Safe in Pregnancy? The Mercury Question
• Why Seafood Is Worth Eating While Pregnant
• How Much Shrimp Can You Eat?
• Shrimp Dishes to Avoid
• How to Cook Shrimp Safely
• Hot Dogs and Medium-Rare Steak: Same Rules
• When to Call Your Doctor
• The Verdict

Is Shrimp Safe in Pregnancy? The Mercury Question

Mercury is the main reason some seafood is limited in pregnancy, because high levels can affect a baby’s developing nervous system. The amount varies hugely between species: large, long-lived predatory fish such as shark, swordfish, king mackerel and bigeye tuna build up the most, while small, short-lived seafood has very little.

Shrimp is at the low end. The FDA and EPA’s joint advice puts shrimp on its “Best Choices” list, and when it names the seafood lowest in mercury, suitable even for young children eating larger amounts, shrimp is on that shorter list too, alongside salmon, sardines, crab, clams, scallops, tilapia and pollock. So for mercury, shrimp is one of the safest choices you can make.

Why Seafood Is Worth Eating While Pregnant

Avoiding seafood altogether is not the safe option it seems. Seafood provides omega-3 fats, iodine, protein, vitamin B12 and other nutrients important for a baby’s brain and eyes, and the research on child development points in one direction:

• The ALSPAC study. In 11,875 pregnant women in England, children whose mothers ate no seafood had 1.48 times the odds of scoring in the lowest quarter for verbal IQ compared with children of mothers who ate more than 340 g (12 oz) a week. Lower intake was also linked to weaker social, communication and fine motor scores, and the less seafood, the higher the risk.
• Systematic reviews. A 2019 review of 44 studies covering 106,237 mother and child pairs concluded that eating a wide range of commercially available seafood in pregnancy is associated with better neurocognitive development than eating none. A 2025 update found higher seafood intake was linked to better social-emotional and behavioral development and possibly better attention, reasoning and verbal intelligence, though the evidence comes mostly from observational studies.
• Omega-3 and preterm birth. A Cochrane review of 70 randomized trials with 19,927 women found that adding omega-3 fats in pregnancy, as supplements or food, lowered preterm birth before 37 weeks by about 11 percent and early preterm birth before 34 weeks by about 42 percent.

Shrimp has less omega-3 than oily fish like salmon or sardines, so it works best as part of a mix. Varying your seafood across the week is exactly what the FDA advice suggests.

How Much Shrimp Can You Eat?

The FDA advises people who are pregnant or breastfeeding to eat 8 to 12 ounces of a variety of lower-mercury seafood each week, which works out to about two to three servings of 4 ounces. Shrimp can count toward that whole amount. A 4-ounce serving is roughly the size of your palm.

There is no need to stop at a single serving because of mercury, but variety matters for nutrition: mixing shrimp with salmon, sardines or trout adds more omega-3. If you have a shellfish allergy, pregnancy does not change that; avoid shrimp entirely.

Shrimp Dishes to Avoid

The risk with shrimp is not mercury but germs, and cooking removes it. Pregnancy changes the immune system, and some foodborne infections are more likely and more serious. Listeria is the clearest example: a 2022 umbrella review of nine systematic reviews found the risk of listeriosis rises in pregnancy, most infections occurred in the third trimester, and the infection can cause miscarriage, preterm birth, stillbirth and serious illness in newborns, often after only flu-like symptoms in the mother.

Raw shellfish can also carry Vibrio bacteria and norovirus, which cause food poisoning; that is another reason the rule for pregnancy is simple: cooked, and served hot or chilled straight from the fridge.

How to Cook Shrimp Safely

• Cook until done. Shrimp is cooked when the flesh turns pearly and opaque all the way through and the shells turn pink. The general safe temperature for seafood is 145°F (63°C).
• Thaw safely. Thaw frozen shrimp in the fridge overnight or in a sealed bag under cold running water, not on the counter.
• Keep raw and cooked apart. Use separate boards and plates, and wash hands and surfaces after handling raw shrimp.
• Store and reheat properly. Refrigerate leftovers within two hours, eat them within a day or two, and reheat until steaming hot.
• Buy from reliable sources, and skip shrimp that smells sour or ammonia-like.

Hot Dogs and Medium-Rare Steak: Same Rules

• Hot dogs and deli meats can carry Listeria even though they are pre-cooked. They are fine in pregnancy if you heat them until steaming hot right before eating; the same review found reheating until steaming was central to prevention. Avoid eating them cold from the package, and wash your hands after handling them.
• Medium-rare steak is the concern for toxoplasmosis, a parasite infection that can harm a developing baby. In a European study of pregnant women, eating undercooked or cured meat accounted for 30 to 63 percent of new infections in different cities, while contact with cats was not a risk factor. Cook whole cuts of beef, lamb and pork to at least 145°F (63°C), medium, with a three-minute rest, and ground meat to 160°F (71°C), well done. Skip rare steak, carpaccio and cured meats like salami unless cooked.

If you are still in the very early weeks and working out timing, see how long after implantation bleeding can you test. Cramping without a period, sometimes an early sign, is covered in cramps but no period.

When to Call Your Doctor

Call your doctor or midwife if you develop fever, chills, muscle aches, vomiting or diarrhea after eating seafood or meat, especially if you ate it raw or undercooked. Listeriosis can look like mild flu in the mother while still affecting the baby, and it is treatable with antibiotics when caught. Also call if you notice reduced baby movements, bleeding or fluid leaking. Get emergency help for swelling of the lips or throat, hives or trouble breathing after eating shellfish, which can mean an allergic reaction.

The Verdict

Cooked shrimp is one of the safest and most useful seafood choices in pregnancy: it is among the lowest in mercury, it counts toward the 8 to 12 ounces of seafood a week the FDA recommends, and eating seafood in pregnancy is linked to better child development. The only real risk is from raw or undercooked shrimp and ready-to-eat cold seafood, so cook it until opaque and eat it hot or freshly chilled. Treat hot dogs and steak the same way: heat hot dogs until steaming and cook steak to at least medium.