Ever hear stories from your mom or grandma or pregnant friends about their weird pregnancy cravings? Some women enjoy weird combinations like pickles and ice cream while others can have strong, frequent cravings for one food.
50-90% of women experience food cravings during pregnancy, with the peak in frequency and intensity around the second trimester (Orloff, 2014). Some of the most commonly craved foods are sweets, carbohydrates, dairy, fruits, vegetables, and fast food (Hook, 1978). Although it may seem harmless, food cravings have been found to be important in development and maintenance of eating or weight-related pathologies like bulimia and obesity (Gendall, 1997). Particularly in pregnant women it can lead to gestational weight gain (GWG), which is weight gain during pregnancy. Although this can be due to a number of factors such as the weight of the baby, the placenta, etc., GWG can have adverse effects on both the mother and the baby. It can lead to higher likelihood of having a cesarean section and higher medical costs (Galtier-Dereure et al., 2000) as well as birth defects in the baby like neural tube defects or delivery complications (Hilson et al., 1997). Additionally, mother's with GWG might not be able to get rid of the weight gain after their pregnancy, leading to maternal obesity (Orloff, 2014). It can also be a predictor of macrosomia (a baby with a higher-than-average weight at birth) or overweight/obesity in children (Orloff, 2014).
I always thought pregnancy cravings were harmless and that it was the body’s way of telling mom’s what their kid needs, but turns out it can have pretty devastating effects for both the mom and the baby. Not only can it lead to complications during pregnancy but also for the mother postpartum and for the child in their later life. But of course, everything in moderation right?
Galtier-Dereure F., Boegner C., Bringer J. (2000). Obesity and pregnancy: complications and cost. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 71 1242S–1248S
Gendall K. A., Joyce P. R., Sullivan P. F. (1997). Impact of definition on prevalence of food cravings in a random sample of young women. Appetite 28 63–72 10.1006/appe.1996.0060
Hilson J. A., Rasmussen K. M., Kjolhede C. L. (1997). Maternal obesity and breastfeeding success in a rural population of white women. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 66 1371–1378
Hook E. B. (1978). Dietary cravings and aversions during pregnancy. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 31 1355–1362
Orloff, N. C., & Hormes, J. M. (2014). Pickles and ice cream! Food cravings in pregnancy: hypotheses, preliminary evidence, and directions for future research. Frontiers in psychology, 5, 1076. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01076
ReplyDeleteHi Amy, just like you, I found it very surprising to hear pregnancy cravings might not be as innocent as I would’ve thought. I think this is a very important thing to study further, living in a society that struggles so significantly with obesity and the diseases associated with it. I actually wrote a blog post regarding the impact the ketogenic diet has on embryonic development, as we all know how significant of a role diet can have on gestation. Just as you addresses sugar, fast food, and other unhealthy fast foods as being possibly detrimental to a developing fetus, I would find it particularly interesting if a diet as extreme as keto could have the same, or similar, impacts on gestation as unhealthy foods.