According to livescience.com, the study also showed that children, whose mothers ate an average of 21 ounces of fish every week during their pregnancy, showed no signs that mercury in fish negatively affected their developmental health, compared with the children whose mothers ate less fish.
The lead author of the study and a researcher at the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology in Barcelona, Jordi Julvez, said the study findings were surprising because certain fish, such as tuna or tilefish, which pregnant women have been discouraged from eating because of their higher levels of mercury, were linked to some of the biggest developmental benefits.
“The study was observational, so it does not prove a cause-and-effect relationship between fish and higher IQ scores. However, the findings suggest that high levels of a compound called docosahexaenoic acid may outweigh any negative effects of mercury,” Julvez said.