This week marks 16 weeks of my third pregnancy. Sometimes I feel okay sometimes I feel exhausted. This time I'm experiencing so many different things compared to the other two pregnancies before. When it comes to cravings, I've had some food cravings. Last week, I craved for Prosperity Burger from McDonald. So, I went to McDonald in KLCC to satisfy my craving. I couldn't finish the burger as the sauce was too hot for me. This week, I can't help but thinking about Kelantanese dishes like 'laksam, nasi kerabu and nasi berlauk ayam'. I guess I have to go and find those food soon. If I want to prepare those food, I don't have the energy to prepare the different components of each dishes especially nasi kerabu unless I get some help from a sous chef. hehe. During my second pregnancy, my late mum came all the way from Kelantan to prepare 'nasi kerabu' for me before I left Malaysia to go to NZ. It was the last dish that my late mum could ever prepared
for me. (mode: emotional)
Why do pregnant women have food cravings? Nobody can really explain but there are some possible explanations given by some researches:
Hormonal changes during pregnancy may alter a woman's sense of taste and smell making her crave food that she normally would not have enjoyed. This could also explain why menopausal women often experience food cravings and aversions.
Temporary nutritional deficiencies may cause cravings; however, this reason would not explain why some women crave more than enough amounts of certain nutrients. Nonetheless, a craving for pickles could indicate low sodium levels in the blood, while craving chocolate may be triggered by a vitamin B deficiency. A craving for red meat may indicate a need for protein, while cravings for peaches might be a result of low beta carotene levels.
Emotional needs are known to be connected with food intake. A pregnant woman may be craving certain foods, consciously or subconsciously, as a response to emotional needs. Many pregnant women crave nostalgic foods that remind them of their childhoods or religious and cultural background, particularly if they are removed from it.
Warding off pregnancy symptoms such as morning sickness and nausea may be the basis for certain food aversions as well as pica cravings of non-food items during pregnancy. Substances like baking soda are known for calming digestive discomfort, while coffee, alcohol, and fried foods may induce nausea as well as harm your baby.
Hopefully I won't be getting any weird cravings like craving for things which are inedible. Pica is a term used to describe cravings to eat non-food items such as toothpaste, laundry detergent, soap, dirt, coal, chalk, and cigarette butts.Those things are harmful and might affect the mommy and the baby.
Have anyone of you craved for weird things (non-food items)?