Okay, guys. Picture this scenario: you’re sound asleep next to your pregnant wife. It’s four in the morning, and you’re enjoying a dream in which you’re single-handedly destroying the alien cyborgs that have attacked the planet. Suddenly, your wife shakes you awake, and in a panic, you jump up and throw on your pants, thinking, “It’s time.” Your suspiciously calm wife sheepishly asks you to run downstairs and get her a bowl of cereal. Oh, and can you cut up some hot dogs and sprinkle them on top while you’re at it? You stand there in silence, wondering if you’re truly awake, and choke down the vomit that starts to rise at the thought of such a concoction. You know better than to question a pregnant woman, so you dutifully do as she asked.
Has this happened to you? I know I put my husband through the wringer each time I was pregnant regarding my cravings. Though I never wanted anything as weird (or gross) as the aforementioned craving, I didn’t make that one up—I knew someone who had to have that very thing throughout her pregnancy. Baffling, I know. While not all pregnant women suffer from or enjoy cravings, most can tell you one or two foods they constantly craved while expecting.
During my first pregnancy, I craved chocolaty cereal. I ate so much of it that I considered writing to the manufacturer to ask if I could be their new spokesperson—at least for nine months. While I still enjoy the cereal on occasion, it has lost its appeal to me. I ate way too much of it and “killed” it. Who knows why I desperately needed that cereal in particular? Some days, I had it for all three meals. I made the mistake of telling my doctor, who promptly scolded me for the amount of sugar I was consuming. Here I thought she would just get a chuckle out of my silly little story.
What was really interesting about my first pregnancy, though, is that I was on a very strange diet before we conceived our daughter. I only ate foods that were alkaline in nature. Yes, I am crazy, in case you hadn’t figured that out by now. My diet consisted primarily of nuts, seeds, legumes, and vegetables. Meat, fish, dairy, and even most fruit were off-limits. One day, when I was seven weeks pregnant, my mother-in-law invited my husband and me over for dinner. She had picked up a bucket of chicken on the way home from work. Before we sat down, she offered me a salad, knowing my limited repertoire of allowable foods. I took one look at that chicken and fell in love. I can’t remember exactly what happened that night, but I’m pretty sure no one else got much to eat. I’ve been eating meat (and everything else) ever since.
I don’t remember my cravings during my second pregnancy, but during my third, I absolutely needed cottage cheese. When I casually interviewed other moms I know, they mentioned cravings for avocados, quarter-pounders from McDonald’s (this person hates fast food, by the way), corn on the cob, McDonald’s caramel sundaes, Perrier, very spicy Indian food, meat, sweets, and vegetables. Looks like McDonald’s is missing out on an untapped niche: McPreggers! Hey, I thought of it first.
No one knows exactly why women have cravings during pregnancy. One theory is that the desired food contains a nutrient the woman is lacking, prompting her body to eat it. Another idea is that the food is comforting and makes her feel good during the often physically and emotionally demanding time of pregnancy. Sometimes women crave something they feel guilty indulging in when they aren’t pregnant but feel justified in having while eating for two.
None of the cravings I’ve mentioned are particularly strange, but some women experience pica cravings while expecting. A pica craving is when someone desires to eat inedible substances, like dirt or chalk, or even, ahem, feces. A common and often undiagnosed pica craving among pregnant women is ice cubes. While ice cubes are relatively benign—though some dentists may disagree—other pica cravings can be dangerous if indulged. If a pregnant woman has an overwhelming desire to eat non-food items, she should speak to her doctor as soon as possible.
What’s even stranger than pregnancy cravings are food aversions that pop up while expecting. I knew I was pregnant with my second daughter before even confirming it because my favorite snack of peanut butter and apples suddenly made me nauseous. I believe I drove straight to the pharmacy to pick up a test, and sure enough, I was pregnant! As I mentioned, when I was newly pregnant with my first daughter, I had the diet of a woodland creature. Unfortunately, I also had an aversion to peppers and onions, which at that time made up a large part of my diet. With my third pregnancy? No aversions whatsoever. Weird, huh? Back to the group of fellow moms I polled: their aversions included vegetables, pizza, Italian food, meat, and bananas.
Certain sights and scents can also affect women during pregnancy. Expecting women are thought to have a heightened sense of smell and can become nauseous from certain odors. My friend was sickened by the smell of (unused) trash bags and her husband’s cologne. She still dislikes her husband’s cologne, even though her kids are now six and two years old, so I think it may just stink in general. Another friend couldn’t look at raw meat, and if she did, she couldn’t eat it once it was cooked. Unfortunately for me, the smell of pizza—one of my very favorite foods—disgusted me while pregnant with my third daughter, though I was fine with eating it. I know, it makes no sense at all.
Such is the wonderful world of pregnancy!
