You've heard pregnant women can develop some weird and intense food cravings—pickles and ice cream, midnight runs to the store for chips and peanut butter, and more. But...why does it happen?
New York City-based neuropsychologist Sanam Hafeez, Psy.D., chalks some of it up to cultural expectations—we've all heard that weird cravings are normal during pregnancy, so we feel OK actually embracing and indulging in them. But, she says hormones can also throw things out of whack. "A lot of it may be that nausea and hormones shut down the usual appetite pathways, leaving room open to peculiar cravings," she says.
But board-certified urogynecologist Betsy Greenleaf, D.O., says they're pretty harmless, provided you're not having, say, cupcakes with maple syrup at every meal. "As long it’s not done obsessively, why not give yourself a break during pregnancy?" she says.
With that in mind, we asked women to share their most bizarre pregnancy cravings. Here's what we found:
"Watermelon. I made my husband cut it into two big halves and then I used a baller spoon to scoop and eat. Scoop and eat, right at the counter standing up. I'd snap at my poor husband when he'd offer to scoop a bowl for me, so I could relax on the couch." —Emma, 24
"McDonald's French fries dipped in a vanilla shake from Carvel. We made many stops during those nine months." —Donna, 27
"Crushed iced from our fridge dispenser—cup after cup after cup. I'd even order an extra cup of ice when we were out or pack a water bottle of crushed ice. I bought mini ice trays for my mother and mother-in-law's homes." —Heather, 38
"Rare pepper steak dipped in ketchup any time of the day." —Maria, 39
"Handfuls of rainbow or chocolate sprinkles. My husband called me 'sprinkle girl' for nine months." —Gail, 29
"Chinese food chicken and broccoli, but without the chicken and rice. The local restaurant came to know my order—'pregnant lady brown sauce broccoli.'" —Kyle, 34
"I put hot sauce on everything, like mac and cheese, pizza, quinoa, mash potatoes—you name it. I kept hot sauce at work, in my purse, and as a joke each table at my baby shower had hot sauce with balloons centerpieces." —Laine, 38
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