Mercury in women exposed to methylmercury through fish consumption, and in their newborn babies and breast milk

The presence of methylmercury in fish is a major environmental problem. During the major epidemics of methylmercury poisoning through sea food in Minamata in Japan, and through dressed seed in Iraq, there was a high prevalence of infants, who developed cerebral palsy. This was generally assumed to be due to intrauterine methylmercury poisoning, as it is well known, that methylmercury is transferred through the placenta into the fetus. There is also a possibility that exposure occurred through breast milk, as high levels of mercury in breast milk have been reported in mothers from Minamata. Information on the relationship between methylmercury exposure, mercury levels in blood of mothers and their babies, and levels in breast milk are reported here.