Month 4: Baby wants a cupcake!
The cravings are real. Here’s what you can do about them without damaging your own or your baby’s health.
Across cultures, a craving for items not typically desired is often considered a hallmark of pregnancy. Research has shown that pregnancy cravings arise from hormonal fluctuations that affect your sense of smell, taste, and appetite, causing you to yearn for strange flavours, textures and combinations. These hormonal changes can lower dopamine – a feel-good hormone – resulting in a craving for foods that subsequently raise the dopamine level again. Pregnant women are known for craving sweets, fruits, calorie-dense foods, odd combinations such as pickles and ice cream or – in rarer cases – pica, consuming non-food substances such as clay and chalk. Cravings that follow a period of nausea, vomiting and food aversions in the first trimester might function to replenish lost nutrients. The process of sustaining new life increases your body’s energy requirements. By the tenth week of pregnancy, women begin to store extra fat, reduce physical activity and consume foods high in calorie content to support foetal growth and development.
Food cravings are known to lead to an increase in consumption of the desired foods, many of which are unhealthy and not ideal in terms of consuming the appropriate micronutrients during pregnancy. Cravings for sweets, desserts, and chocolates generally increase caloric intake in pregnant women, thus increasing the risk of too much weight gain.
DO NUTRIENT DEFICIENCIES CAUSE CRAVINGS?
Some researchers believe that cravings are caused by nutrient deficiencies and view them as the body’s way to correct this. But there is no evidence to support this theory, except in the case of pica.
In pregnancy, the baby’s development can double requirements of certain nutrients. Thus the ”nutrient deficiency” hypothesis predicts you would crave nutrient-rich food during pregnancy, especially during the later stages, when Baby’s nutrient needs are highest. Yet, studies report we tend to crave highcarb, high-fat and fast foods – rather than nutrient-rich alternatives – during pregnancy. What’s more, food cravings tend to start during the first half of pregnancy, when caloric and micronutrient needs are not at their highest. Pregnancy cravings may also be as a result of a built-in need for comfort, as our bodies adjust to the added physical stress. Cravings are more likely to be related to hormonal changes and what our brain wants, rather than what our body actually needs.
HOW TO MANAGE UNHEALTHY PREGNANCY CRAVINGS
• Curb your cravings before they happen by eating regular, healthy meals. This will stabilise your blood sugar and help prevent sudden pangs of hunger.
• Choose healthy, low-glycaemic-index (GI) foods that keep you full for longer. Examples include oat porridge, grains, sweet potato, vegetables, legumes and dairy.
• Keep your cupboards stocked with healthier options such as dark chocolate, fruit, milk and yoghurt. The easiest way to avoid unhealthy food is by keeping it out of the house.
• Don’t do the grocery shopping when you are hungry.
• Steer clear of foods that are not recommended during pregnancy. This includes alcohol, undercooked or raw eggs, undercooked meat, raw fish and fish with high mercury levels, paté and unpasteurised dairy.
• Practise moderation. It is okay to indulge in common pregnancy cravings, such as ice cream, as long as you know where to draw the line.
• Get plenty of sleep. Research has shown that people who are sleep deprived tend to crave junk food more than healthy foods.
• Rather than eat, take a leisurely walk outside or call a friend.
HEALTHY ALTERNATIVES FOR YOUR PREGNANCY CRAVINGS
To ensure your diet and nutrient intake is optimal for your baby’s needs, substitute healthier alternatives for common food cravings experienced in pregnancy. This will also reduce the risk of excessive pregnancy weight gain, which can lead to preeclampsia and delivery complications to name a few.
WHEN CRAVINGS BECOME WEIRD
Some pregnant women develop a craving to eat things that are not food, such as chalk, crayons, clay, burnt matches, dirt or laundry soap. This is a condition called pica and may indicate a mineral deficiency or severe irondeficiency anaemia.
Studies have shown that people with pica often have low iron, zinc or calcium levels. In some instances, taking supplements that contain the lacking nutrients seems to stop the pica behaviour.
Among the most dangerous aspects of pica is the consumption of lead – particularly when you eat dirt or clay. This can lead to infant and child developmental problems including low verbal IQ scores, and impaired hearing and motor skill development. If you find yourself drawn to dangerous or toxic substances, see your doctor, nurse or midwife soonest. Pregnancy cravings are an inevitable part of pregnancy and shouldn’t be cause for concern – provided you are aware of your overall nutritional intake.