17 Weird Food Cravings Of Pregnant Women That Really Do Exist

Having your own set of weird pregnancy cravings list is quite common during pregnancy. It can be a result of  a number of things including fluctuating hormones, a heightened sense of smell and taste, and even nutritional deficiencies.

They typically begin during the first trimester and an expecting mum can experience them well through her second trimester. But it’s safe to say that pregnancy food cravings can appear any time during the pregnancy. 

Although cravings tend to differ for each woman, some can be outright weird too. You can find yourself craving for something that may make your family raise their eyebrows. But you’re not alone in that.

Weird Pregnancy Cravings List: 17 Unexpected Items Mums-To-Be Love To Try

Let’s have a look at some of the weirdest pregnancy cravings:

1. Mashed potatoes: A lot of expecting mums crave mashed potatoes because of carbohydrates that are a common craving. Potatoes are also full of antioxidants and vitamins that help to prevent disease.
   
2. Peanut butter in all forms: A peanut butter craving can be a signal of vitamin B or protein deficiency. It can be paired with apples to help satisfy their needs without eating the entire jar.

Trends in pregnancy food cravings also show that there is a weird craving for peanut butter in the following forms:

• Peanut butter spread across pickle sandwiches
• A spoonful of peanut butter topped with butter
• Chocolate cookies dipped in peanut butter
• Peanut butter sandwich with cheese chips

3. Toothpaste: A weird craving during pregnancy is for toothpaste. Many expecting mums can’t resist devouring the minty freshness of a toothpaste.

Pregnant women often eat or swallow a bit of toothpaste when they’re brushing their teeth. There are no known side effects of having toothpaste during pregnancy. However, experts recommend not doing it frequently.

4. Chilli peppers and spicy foods: Many pregnant women crave spicy foods, even if they bring tears to their eyes. This can be attributed to hormonal changes, nutrient deficiencies, and compounds found in spicy foods.

5. Chalk: A bizarre craving by pregnant mums is for chalk. They often fantasise about chewing chalk. It can be for the crunch or the taste that expecting women crave for chalks.

Instead of chewing chalk, expectant mums can lick tums tablets to satisfy the cravings for a chalky flavour.

6. Lemons: Expecting mums also reach for lemonade, limeade, or even raw lemons. Although no proper reasons could be cited behind this craving, it has been found that these fruits are digestible and refreshing. It could be the fact that pregnant mums are likely to have something sour. Hence, such a craving!

Lemons are packed with vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that support mum’s health and baby’s development. Some women satisfy this craving by adding lemon to a glass of water, a great way to stay hydrated.

7. Laundry detergent: A weird craving during pregnancy is for laundry detergent. Women crave the smell of laundry detergent throughout their pregnancies.

Although laundry detergent smells heavenly, the taste is vile. But that doesn’t stop expecting mums from sneaking little bites of it to satisfy their intense yearnings for it.

Detergent is an unnatural chemical substance and is super toxic to the mum and baby.

8. Bacon: Expecting women may be reaching for the bacon because it combines protein and fat.

Some scientific studies have also found that consuming a moderate amount of bacon and eggs during pregnancy could boost the intelligence and memory of the foetus.

9. Raw onion: Raw onion brings tears due to its sting. However, some pregnant women shed tears of joy and crave it at the thought of consuming raw onion. Yes, it exists!

10. Rice: Rice is not liked by so many women. Every day before sitting at the lunch table, we all shout out to our mums that why have they served so much rice?

But now that you are a mum-to-be, you would crave rice. Rice is an energy-rich carbohydrate and is a source of vitamin B6 that helps the body use and store energy from food.

11.  Soap: A lot of expectant mums are obsessed with soap. From lathering it on to licking the bar straight, they crave for it ardently.

Instead, they can consume flavoured lollipops, the one we used to have when we were in school.

To overcome such a craving, they can improve their nutritional intake. Taking prenatal vitamin can also be helpful.

12. Paint and wet cement: Perhaps one of the most toxic and dangerous cravings for pregnant mums is paint. They cannot resist inhaling the fumes.

Some pregnant mums can’t resist the smell and texture of wet cement and they would perhaps go and lick it! This sounds crazy but such a craving really exists!

Instead, you can get your hands on some gum or any other chewable substance.

13. Coffee grounds:  Have you ever thought of munching on and inhaling the aroma of coffee grounds? It can be weird but such a craving exists amongst pregnant mums.

This is linked to mineral or vitamin deficiency. Eating the grounds of a partner’s morning cup may leave a pregnant woman feeling jittery.

Expecting mums should eat more fruits and vegetables in order to combat such deficiency and ultimately such cravings.

14. Yoghurt: Yoghurt is another uncommon food craving during pregnancy. Studies also show that yoghurt can exert beneficial metabolic and anti-inflammatory effects due to its probiotic qualities.

If you’re craving something cool and trying to avoid calorific ice cream, you can try frozen yoghurt that will meet some of your calcium needs without the added calorie count.

15. Sawdust: Pregnancy does weird things to your appetite. It can even make you yearn for saw dust. Buying sawdust blocks is common for many expectant mums. Such a weird craving really exists.
    
16. Petrol: Expectant mums also crave the smell of petrol. The strong smell of the petrol gets some mothers-to-be hooked. To  deal with such a craving, pregnant women should start eating more iron supplements like broccoli, green peas, eggs, nuts and seeds.
    

17. Toilet paper: Expectant mothers rejoice in the texture and taste of toilet paper. A bizarre craving indeed!

In addition to these, pregnant women also get addicted to crunching ice cubes. This craving is related to iron deficiency.

To combat such cravings for non-food items, expecting mothers should eat a balanced diet, packed with proteins and vitamins. Consuming more green vegetables and whole grains can also be helpful.

The credit for craving non-food items during pregnancy goes to Pica. It is the practice of craving substances with little or no nutritional value. It comes from a Latin word, magpie, a bird notorious for eating almost anything. It is advisable to consult a doctor and have a healthy balanced diet.