Can pregnant women eat Mekong fish?

Mekong fish is a fish that is deeply loved by people. It is not only delicious but also has high nutritional value. It is mainly distributed in Southeast Asia. Many people don’t know whether pregnant women can eat Mekong fish. The answer is yes. Mekong fish is rich in protein, which is beneficial not only to the baby’s brain development. However, pregnant women need to be careful not to eat raw salmon fillets, which are not conducive to the presence of more bacteria.

1. Basic Information

Mekong fish is an animal of the Cyprinidae family and the genus Mekong. It lives in Southeast Asia. It is also called Mang fish. It is a scaleless fish with an elongated, laterally flattened body and straight dorsal and ventral margins. The head is flat and small. The snout is prominent and slightly pointed. The eyes are small, located on the upper side, with a small spine with a forked base below the anterior line of the eye. The mouth is small, inferior and horseshoe-shaped. There are 5 pairs of whiskers, including 2 pairs of snout whiskers, 1 pair of whiskers at the corners of the mouth, and 2 pairs of chin whiskers. The body is covered with small round scales, the head is scaleless; the lateral line is not obvious, and there are 140-170 vertical rows of scales. It is mainly found at the estuary of the Mekong River in Vietnam. It is a brackish water fish. As a type of fish, the Mekong fish has the nutritional value common to all fish.

2. Morphological characteristics

The body is elongated, laterally flattened, with straight dorsal and ventral margins. The head is flat and small. The snout is prominent and slightly pointed. The eyes are small, located on the upper side, with a small spine with a forked base below the anterior line of the eye. The mouth is small, inferior and horseshoe-shaped. There are 5 pairs of whiskers, including 2 pairs of snout whiskers, 1 pair of whiskers at the corners of the mouth, and 2 pairs of chin whiskers. The body is covered with small round scales, the head is scaleless; the lateral line is not obvious, and there are 140-170 vertical rows of scales.

Each fin has no spines, dorsal fin soft rays 3 (unbranched soft rays) 7 (branched soft rays); anal fin 3 (unbranched soft rays) 5 (branched soft rays); pelvic fin 1 (unbranched soft rays) 6-7 (branched soft rays); caudal fin round. The dorsal side of the body is light brown, the ventral side is light yellow, and there is a slanting black line from under the eye to the upper jaw. The upper part of the body and the back have several distinct longitudinal black patches extending to the base of the caudal peduncle. The caudal fin has 4-5 vertical rows of black markings with a distinct black spot above the base.

3. Nutritional value

It contains animal protein, calcium, phosphorus, and vitamins A, D, B1, B2, etc., which are higher than those in other animal meats such as pork and chicken. It is easily digested and absorbed by the human body, with an absorption rate of up to 96%.

4. Can pregnant women eat Mekong fish?

Yes, you can eat it. Mekong fish is rich in protein. It is beneficial to the baby’s brain development. So it doesn't matter. But it is best not to eat raw salmon slices, because raw fish slices will produce bacteria, and eating raw fish can easily cause diarrhea, which is very harmful to expectant mothers and fetuses. However, salmon itself is very nutritious, and cooked salmon can be eaten in moderation.