Lobster is safe to eat during pregnancy. The FDA classifies both American and spiny lobster as a “Best Choice” seafood, meaning it’s among the lowest-mercury options available. You can safely enjoy 2 to 3 servings per week, with one serving defined as 4 ounces during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Why Lobster Is a Good Choice During Pregnancy
Lobster lands in the FDA’s top tier for seafood safety because its mercury levels are quite low. American (Maine) lobster averages just 0.107 parts per million of mercury, while spiny lobster comes in even lower at 0.093 ppm. For context, fish on the FDA’s “avoid” list, like swordfish and king mackerel, can exceed 1.0 ppm. Both lobster varieties are well within safe limits.
Beyond being low-risk, lobster delivers nutrients that directly support fetal development. It’s a lean source of high-quality protein, which fuels the rapid tissue growth happening throughout pregnancy. Lobster also provides omega-3 fatty acids, particularly DHA, which plays a central role in your baby’s brain and eye development. It contains zinc, important for cell division, and selenium, a powerful antioxidant that supports immune function.
One Part of the Lobster to Skip
The tomalley, that soft green substance inside the lobster’s body cavity, is not safe to eat during pregnancy or at any other time. The tomalley functions as the lobster’s liver and pancreas, and testing has shown it accumulates environmental contaminants. The Maine Center for Disease Control advises no consumption of tomalley for anyone. Stick to the tail, claw, and knuckle meat.
How to Cook Lobster Safely
All lobster you eat during pregnancy should be fully cooked. Raw and undercooked shellfish can harbor harmful bacteria, including Listeria and Vibrio. Cook lobster to an internal temperature of 145°F (63°C). A reliable visual check: the flesh should turn pearly and milky white throughout, with no translucent or grayish areas remaining.
Steaming, boiling, grilling, and baking all work fine as long as you hit that temperature. If you’re eating out, don’t hesitate to send back lobster that looks undercooked. Pregnancy increases your susceptibility to Listeria by roughly 10 times compared to other healthy adults, so thorough cooking is worth taking seriously.
Cold Lobster Dishes and Listeria Risk
A cold lobster roll or lobster salad sits in a gray area. The concern isn’t the lobster itself but how it’s been handled after cooking. Listeria thrives in refrigerated, ready-to-eat foods, and pregnant women are especially vulnerable to infection because immune function shifts during pregnancy.
If you’re making a lobster roll at home with freshly cooked, cooled lobster that you prepared yourself, the risk is minimal. The issue comes with pre-cooked lobster meat that’s been sitting in a deli case or refrigerator for an extended period. The longer a ready-to-eat seafood product sits refrigerated, the greater the chance for Listeria to grow, particularly if the fridge runs above 40°F. As a general rule, never let cooked seafood sit at room temperature for more than two hours (one hour if it’s above 90°F outside).
Refrigerated smoked seafood is a separate category the FDA specifically flags for pregnant women. While smoked lobster is uncommon, if you encounter it, treat it the same way: avoid it cold, but it’s fine if heated in a cooked dish.
Staying Within Serving Guidelines
The FDA recommends 2 to 3 servings of “Best Choice” seafood per week during pregnancy, not as a ceiling to fear but as a target to aim for. Many pregnant women eat less seafood than recommended, missing out on the omega-3s and protein that benefit fetal development.
A serving during pregnancy is 4 ounces, roughly the amount of meat from one small lobster tail. If you’re eating a whole lobster, the yield varies by size, but a 1.25-pound lobster typically gives you around 5 to 6 ounces of meat. That counts as a little more than one serving. You can mix lobster with other low-mercury seafood like shrimp, salmon, or tilapia throughout the week to reach your 2 to 3 serving goal.
Keep in mind that butter-drenched lobster or lobster dipped in drawn butter adds saturated fat and calories quickly. If you’re watching sodium intake due to blood pressure concerns, be mindful of seasoned preparations, lobster bisques, and restaurant dishes that may be heavily salted.