I had a client email me, letting me know that she was craving "dirt". Yes, its true (I will keep her identity a secret as to not cause any embarrasment). She was worried I was going to laugh and actually I am not. I have actually heard of this before from other sources that they mentioned that they had been craving dirt. I actually wanted to google this for everyone in case anyone else experienced this. Its actually quite common, and they have given it a name!! (PICA - Cravings for non-food items during pregnancy). They have linked this to being usually low with a mineral deficiency. I even located an article that might be good to read, just so that your prepared should this happen to you!
http://www.babycenter.com/404_what-causes-pica-cravings-for-non-food-items-during-pregnanc_1186643.bc
I thought that this was interesting. In both of my pregnancies I did not crave things like this. For me, it was watermelon, marshmellows, and corn nuts(which I puked up after eating) . Some pregnant women develop strong cravings for non-food items such as dirt, ashes, clay, chalk, ice, laundry starch, baking soda, soap, toothpaste, paint chips, plaster, wax, hair, coffee grounds, and even cigarette butts. This phenomenon is called pica (which is Latin for magpie, a bird that will eat almost anything).
So if this happens to you, please do not be embarrased about it, and realize that its actually fairly common and that you should mention it to your dr!
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5 comments:
I have heard of this before! I thought it was so crazy! But they say that your body craves what you need. I didn't have any of those cravings when i was pregnant. But i know that my body did not want pop (which i love), and i just wanted water and watermelon, apples, nectarines etc. (anything with fruit juice). Interesting article though.
I just heard of pica recently. I think it was on an episode of House. :-) Danielle T.
Yes I too have heard of this & know of two different ladies who experienced these strange cravings while pregnant. One was my high school English teacher apparently she was craving dirt/mud & tried her best to fight the cravings but one morning she could no longer fight it so took a spoon out to her backyard & literally dug into the soil then into her mouth. The 2nd lady was a friends sister in law & she craved laundry powder so while doing the washing one day apparently ate a small amount...eww bazaar hey!
I have actually experience PICA personally. Last year I was anemic and I craved ice, laundry soap and fabric softener! I ate ice almost constantly. Instead of getting a soda at a gas station, i'd fill a huge cup with ice. I never did eat laundry soap or fabric softener though for obvious reasons but I sure wanted to! i'd sniff the bottles of soap and softener any chance i could and i'd wash my bed sheets everyday just so i could smell it. it was almost as if i could taste it through smell. it was bizarre to say the least! As a joke a friend of mine wiped fabric softener on my upper lip so i had no choice but to taste it... NOT GOOD hahaha! Now i have no cravings since my iron levels are back to normal.
I had it with my last pregnancy!! I craved paper... toilet paper to be exact. Ate it right off the roll. When I mentioned it to my ob, she rolled her eyes and suggested I seek mental counselling. Needless to say, I never saw that doctor again.
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