16 Oct 2011
By: HUANG HUIFEN
Medical science research is inconclusive on what causes the bizarre and extreme pregnancy cravings expectant mothers experience.
Regardless, a hungry pregnant woman will not be denied her desires, whatever the hour.
A few weeks ago, an almost nine-month pregnant Leong Qiu Ying had such a strong craving for the beancurd and mee suah in Geylang that she drove herself there from her home in the east. It was five in the morning.
“I was just so hungry that I couldn’t wait for my husband to wake up to drive me there. I bought one bowl of beancurd, four pieces of xiao long bao, one bowl of mee suah and two pieces of tea eggs and ate them all by myself when I got home.
“When I posted the photos of the food escapade on Facebook and shared that I drove there alone, my friends were shocked,” says the 26-year-old first-time mum-to-be with a tinge of embarrassment.
Her cravings are not limited to such spurs of the moment.
During her first trimester, she found herself craving iced Milo every morning, so she bought a cup from McDonald’s every day. In her second trimester, the iced Milo craving was replaced by a yearning for hawker food such as Hokkien mee from Old Airport Road and the Katong area.
The housewife has put on about 20kg, while her husband has also piled on 7kg eating with her. “I never experienced such cravings till I was pregnant. I think it is because the baby is sending signals to me.
“When I am hungry, there will be a particular food or drink that pops up in my mind. I can literally feel what he wants to eat or drink,” she says.
While doctors say that more than 70 per cent of women will experience food cravings during pregnancy, medical science studies cannot agree on what causes the cravings.
Some say hormonal changes have an effect on the mum-to-be’s palate and sense of smell. Others believe that it is the body’s protective function to make pregnant women reject harmful food such as alcohol and coffee. Yet others put it down to the psychological need to have comfort food after experiencing pregnancy blues such as morning sickness.
Dr Tan Lay Kok, senior consultant at the department of obstetrics and gynaecology in Singapore General Hospital, says: “During pregnancy, the change in hormonal levels can sensitise the tastebuds and create cravings. Others believe that these women suffer so much from morning sickness during their first trimester that they are searching for comfort food, so they develop cravings for food such as ice cream.
“Some theories also suggest the reason some women crave red meat is because their bodies are lacking in protein. But there are no studies to show an absolute link between cravings and nutritional requirements. If there were, we would be craving for vegetables.”
Indeed. Surely pregnant American singer Beyonce’s body could not have been crying out for snacks when she reportedly ate banana with ketchup, Bounty ice cream with hot chilli sauce, croissants with melted Dime bars and Oreo biscuits and gherkins.
Pregnancy cravings are also not consistent and can change from day to day, and from pregnancy to pregnancy.
When mum-to-be Stephanie Ngooi, 27, was in her first trimester, she experienced a 180-degree change of palate.
“I used to love eating fish. But when I was initially pregnant, I could not even look at fish. I used to be a chilli-sauce person, but I began to love ketchup and ate it with everything, including bak kut teh. I never liked Coke but I started drinking one or two bottles a day,” says Ms Ngooi, who is now 81/2 months pregnant.
But the cravings dwindled after the first few months of pregnancy. She now finds herself eating more chilli than before.
Dr Tan Thiam Chye, a consultant at the department of obstetrics and gynaecology in KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, warns that a pregnant woman may gain excessive weight or even develop gestational diabetes if she does not control her sweet-tooth cravings.
“This may cause large babies of more than 4kg. The risk of birth injuries and Caesarean sections are much higher in these instances,” says Dr Tan.
Assistant marketing manager Janice Xu, 29, is one woman who is heeding her gynaecologist’s warning seriously. The health-conscious mum-to-be had indulged in chocolate ice cream every other day during her first trimester.
“I went out of my way to look for an ice cream parlour wherever I was. If there wasn’t any, I would pop into the nearest supermarket to buy the ice cream,” she says.
Now 61/2 months pregnant, she puts “a tight lid” on her chocolate cravings. Her gynaecologist says her baby is already overweight and may become too big, which may cause complications during delivery.
Amid all this irrational fervour for food, husbands of pregnant women often play a stoic supporting role, even if it means going to great lengths to satisfy their wives’ food preferences.
Risk analyst Teo Wee Lee, 31, got his first taste of his wife’s pregnancy cravings more than a year ago when she woke him at 6am on a weekend to have breakfast at McDonald’s. “My first thought was, ‘Oh no, what have I gotten myself into?’” he says with a laugh.
Another time, she wanted durian cake and he had to get one from Goodwood Park Hotel after work on the way home.
Now that his wife, financial reporting analyst Kristin Soo Thoo, 27, is pregnant with their second child, she does not ask him to buy food as often, as she understands that Mr Teo has to take care of their 13-month-old son, too.
Not that the loving husband minds running such errands.
He says: “Buying food for my wife when she is pregnant is the greatest act of love. It is the small things that count. It may be an inconvenience but I can easily work around it.”
Email: hfhuang@sph.com.sg
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