Pregnancy: a time of incredible changes, including both physical and emotional. One strange but common symptom of pregnancy is intense cravings for specific foods. For some women, this means ice cream or other cold treats. Whereas, many women cannot resist the temptation of spicy foods (although it causes extreme heartburn) during pregnancy. While the exact cause of pregnancy cravings is unknown, there are a few theories that may explain why ice sounds so delicious to expectant mothers.
Hormonal changes during pregnancy can alter taste buds, making previously unappealing foods seem irresistible.
This is one thing, and it’s unharmful to start liking the food that you once despised. But, there are reports that women, during pregnancy, crave some non-food items. Things that are non-food items but women begin to enjoy eating them, especially during pregnancy.
Anyhow, if you find yourself constantly chomping on the ice during pregnancy, you’re not alone. Studies have found that about 15% of pregnant women develop a strong craving for ice. There is no need to worry, as you will also give up this habit once your pregnancy is over.
While there’s no scientific consensus on why this happens, there are some theories about what might be causing those pregnancy cravings for ice.
How Did You Develop This Habit Overnight?
The word ‘pagophagia’ describes this habit of chewing ice. The hormones that affect pregnant women cause these cravings and eating of non-food items. These items can be mud, chalk, sand and ice.
ICE may not seem as harmful as these other ones, but it falls under PICA. A pregnancy-related eating disorder known as pica may cause pagophagia in pregnant women.
What Is PICA?
Pica is a craving for non-food items like chalk and mud, mostly found in kids who want to eat sand, mud, and similar non-food items. However, the majority of Pica cases are found in children, with pregnant women coming in second. The number of occurrences in children hasn’t exceeded 30%, and in pregnant women, it’s even lower.
A little ice munching never hurts, but only until it is little. As long as you just crave to scrunch those ice cubes in your glass, and this practice doesn’t lead you to make back-to-back visits of your refrigerator, then ice eating is not an issue.
But if it extends, and the craving is consistent, then it may have an underlying meaning. Pica is often related to the lack of iron.
This craving for non-food items indicates anemia in the body. And it is also a common condition experienced during pregnancy.
Reasons That You Might Be Craving Ice During Pregnancy
As medical reasons usually relate Pica to anemia and anemia is a common condition in pregnancy, therefore one must not delay in discussing their conditions with their health care providers. No matter how innocent practice (craving ice during pregnancy) it might apparently look, our body has its own way of telling things. It is therefore imperative to not ignore any condition or habit that develops suddenly.
Could Pregnant Women’s Cravings for Ice Mean They’re Anemic?
Many pregnant women ask this question. The short answer is yes, it’s possible that your ice craving could be a symptom of anemia. However, there are other reasons why you might crave ice during pregnancy and not all of them are related to anemia. In general, there are four other reasons that can cause you to develop an ice craving during pregnancy.
1. Iron Deficiency
The most probable reason behind developing this instant and intense urge of craving ice during pregnancy is the deficiency of iron or anemia. Although the relation between iron deficiency and pica is unclear, but studies have shown that iron supplements can help ease pica.
Apart from no extremely harmful effects of munching on ice, one must not ignore their medical condition. If diagnosed with iron deficiency, treating it in earnest is the most appropriate option there. There are many supplements that can help ease this problem. Besides, you can also go for natural food based solutions to satisfy your iron deficiency. Else it can result in premature and low birth weight of the baby.
2. Eases Morning Sickness
Pregnant women commonly suffer from morning sickness. It is an essential part of the first trimester that can lead to nine months for some women depending on the situation they face (as it differs from women to women).
Since ice is odour and tasteless, it is reported by many women that they chew ice because it not only helps them in staying hydrated but also eases the discomfort of morning sickness. As the first trimester is the trickiest one as far as morning sickness is concerned. The odourless characteristic of ice helps ease nausea, which is easily triggered by every other edible and its odour.
3. Rising Body Temperature
It is also a common symptom experienced by pregnant women that their body temperature keeps on rising. When others may feel quite moderate or even chilly, you may love to munch on ice cube that feel like helps in moderating the rising body temperature of yours. Eating ice also helps pregnant women to quench their thirst and stay hydrated.
4. Ice Eating Seems Relaxing During Pregnancy
Pregnancy is the roller coaster of emotions. You may feel extremely emotional without knowing the reason. Sometimes women also feel too stressed and the reason may not even be apparent to them. During these types of conditions, one feels to find something relaxing. And with all the nausea and sickness going on, nothing seems to be as relaxing and soothing as ice.
5. The Only Soothing Element For HeartBurn
Heartburn is also one of the most common perks of carrying a baby. This situation can be experienced in the first trimester, but it is in its worst in the last trimester. When you feel hungry and experience no or a little bit nauseous, but you still can’t eat because of heartburn. Heartburn can happen whether you eat something or not. And with pregnancy cravings for food, it becomes simply impossible to keep the balance. For women who crave spicy food during pregnancy, heartburn is the worst. However, heartburn is experienced by every pregnant woman with or without the craving for spicy foods.
In this complex situation, the only thing that seems to be soothing is ICE. A crunch of an ice cube provides relief from heartburn when it is affecting you badly.
How Your Ice Craving Can Effect Your Health
If you’re carrying a baby and have developed a sudden craving for ice, don’t worry—it’s actually a good thing! While the specific reason why pregnant women crave ice is unknown. It’s best to discuss it with your OB Gye in case it can be linked to anemia (a common pregnancy complication). Ice can help relieve fatigue and headaches associated with anemia, so if you’re feeling extra tired or are having trouble concentrating, try munching on some ice cubes. It won’t last forever, so enjoy this little phase of your life and be happy to welcome a healthy and happy baby.
Although looking into the root cause of the problem is also essential.
No matter what the underlying cause of Ice Craving During Pregnancy is, it will certainly affect your enamel. As our teeth are made to chew on soft and tender food. When you eat too many ice cubes (because ice is quite hard and too cold), you can cause sensitivity of the teeth, enamel damage, and tooth decay (in the worst cases).
