Remember that “I Love Lucy” episode when Lucy made Ricky get her food in the middle of the night to satisfy her pickles and ice cream craving? Well, until you’re pregnant, you’ll never experience weird, uncontrollable cravings like this! Some studies show that up to 68% of women experience cravings while they’re pregnant. We asked moms what their weirdest pregnancy craving was and you wouldn’t believe some of the responses we received!
Remember that “I Love Lucy” episode when Lucy made Ricky get her food in the middle of the night to satisfy her pickles and ice cream craving? Well, until you’re pregnant, you’ll never experience weird, uncontrollable cravings like this! Some studies show that up to 68% of women experience cravings while they’re pregnant. We asked moms what their weirdest pregnancy craving was and you wouldn’t believe some of the responses we received!
Why Do We Get Cravings?
First things first, we need to get to the bottom of what a pregnancy craving really is. No one seems to be exactly sure why women experience them, but perhaps the most simple and straightforward reason is because our bodies are growing and feeding a baby – duh! Some cravings could just be due to our bodies’ need for extra calories. Some cravings could be signs of nutritional deficiencies. For instance, rf you are craving fruits and veggies, then your body may be telling you that you are not taking in enough vitamins. Many women crave foods that they would never eat if they weren’t carrying a baby inside them, such as vegetarians craving red meat. This could be a sign that your body is asking for more iron in your diet. Another explanation for food cravings is that it could just be in your head, due to wacky pregnancy hormones.
Common Cravings
Whatever the reason behind the cravings, when a pregnant woman wants a specific food, she is determined to get it. Some of our readers preferred sour foods, like sour candy or sauerkraut. Others preferred hot and spicy foods, like Hot Tamales, hot cinnamon candy, and even hot sauce straight out of the jar! Salty was another popular food craving, including potato chips, salt cured ham, french fries and pickles on pizza. Some moms craved fruits and veggies, like raspberries, oranges, spinach and watermelon, even when they were out of season! And of course, there were plenty of moms who craved the sweet stuff – Hershey bars, soda, chocolate milk, slurpees, cocoa puffs, ice cream, powdered donuts, oreos dipped in PB (gotta try that!), apple pie, and root beer.
You Ate WHAT?
There were some moms that really wowed us because their craving was just so unusual. Ang Robertson wrote “I had 24 hour sickness and the only things that were even remotely appetizing and all I could eat for 5 months was braunschweiger with yellow mustard on rye, smoked whiting, artichokes, peanut butter with apple butter and whole milk. Can’t stand to even look at braunschweiger now…UCK!” Lucy Mejia Riojas craved “Macaroni & cheese for breakfast. And I always hated mac & cheese before I was pregnant. Now that I had my baby, I hate mac & cheese again.” Karen Greaney Rice craved “Liverwurst w/mayo and red onions… insanely weird because I'm a vegetarian! Had been for 15 years and didn't eat that when I did eat meat! But I ate them anyway. Couldn't help myself.”
Be Careful With Cravings
Some cravings are signals that something is wrong. Two moms revealed they used to crave ice, which they later learned was a sign that they were anemic! When you are craving ice or something highly unusual, it might be a good idea to ask your gyno about it. Whatever your cravings may be while pregnant, be sure to get a balanced meal to keep you and your baby healthy.
