- Blog
- Bios
- Boards
- Classifieds
- DIY
- Gallery
- Vendor Reviews
- Shop Weddingbee
Weddingbee boards
Growing feet, disgusting cravings...all in addition to the possibility of your hoo-haa ripping apart? Man, this baby thing sounds less appealing by the day...
I swear that if I ever crave the taste of cigarette ashes I will die (I HATE cigarettes).
I've heard about that before, but it's not just a disorder in pregnant women:
"Doctors use the term "pica" to describe craving and chewing substances that have no nutritional value — such as ice, clay, cornstarch or paper...
In some individuals, pica is a sign of emotional problems, such as stress, obsessive-compulsive disorder or a developmental disorder.
A thorough medical evaluation can help determine if pica is due to an underlying medical condition. If the cause of pica is an emotional or developmental issue, cognitive behavioral therapy may be helpful."
I think it generally occurs in people who are mineral deficient. So it's common in underdeveloped countries. It's the true meaning of craving. Your body isn't getting what it need so it finds it in the most peculiar places.
When I was pregnant, I was OBSESSED with crushed ice. I would crave it all the time. The dr told me that it was a form of Pica craving. Just glad it wasn't dirt! ew
@veganglam---lol, you make some great points! Wonderful things to look forward to.
I've definitely heard of it but never associated with pregnancy. It's a psychological thing.
@nicole, really? Ice is not pica as it is always edible, unless it has been contaminated in some way. If it was inedible and thus correctly fitting the pica categorization, it wouldn't be allowed anywhere near food or drink.
@selene actually ice cravings are considered PICA because they have no nutritional value. so when you want to consume them in large quantity it is labeled as a form of PICA.
I work in a state hospital so I see PICA all the time in people who have mental retardation and mental illness. It can be very disturbing... I have clients who have eaten metal screws and nails. One even swallowed a pair of scissors. (no joke, he really swallowed scissors, he had to have a major operation) Another guy will search for cigarette butts in parking lots to get the nicotine when he eats them. It's very sad.
I can tell some crazy stories involving PICA haha.
But my mom who works in OB says that she sees pregnant women who have PICA but it isn't that common with the cigarette butts, etc. Mostly ice and things.
Ice cravings are supposed to be a symptom of iron deficiency / anemia. Which is pretty common in women and pregnancy. My aunt just self diagnosed with anemia cause she was craving ice. Her dr told her she was nuts but ran a blood test anyway.. she was right. I had never heard of it before that though.
Someone should note that not EVERY pregnany woman gets pica. It's not like craving oreos, pica is a serious medical condition. So don't worry ladies, you probably won't get pica or any cravings like it.
Yeah, Pica is seen in animal, like rodents, too. They say that if an animal is sick to the stomach, they we eat clay, dirt or anything in order to try to soothe the stomach. It's not something they think about, they just do it. I'm an animal biologist and I see it in certain animals. Very interesting. I know it can happen in humans, too and especially during a pregnancy because of the nausea.
yep! In my nutrition classes we learned about pica. Crazy. I think that a bad one would be laundry detergent. So so bad for you!
HAHA. My evil SIL experiences these...I secretly laugh about them...
How disgusting. Hope I never experience them though.
My mum wanted to lick the inside of the fire place all through her pregnancy. My dad said sometimes he could see her looking at it and fighting the urge to climb in and start licking. How gross!
I can actually see the clay thing...i'm not even pregnant. I saw it on Planet Earth with elephants or something. Ice has always been my thing but that is for dry mouth.
For me it was clay...but I settled for the ice instead...LOL. I consumed enormous quantities of ice during my pregnancy. It go to the point where I would fix a glass of juice or soda and put it in the freezer until it got a film of ice over it. My FI is looking forward to laughing at me through any future pregnancies....=)
Wow, is all I can say! I never knew people could actually crave "non-food" things.
While my fiance and I were in Botswana, we went on a little walking safari for a few hours in the Okavongo Delta and came across a huge termite hill, and our guide told us that some pregnant women get crazy cravings for the dirt/clay/mud, and send someone out to break them off a chunk for them to eat.
Blah!
I actually think this is really interesting! I craved ice chips a lot as a kid; I was a picky eater but my parents pretty much trusted me to fend for myself. It was never so extreme that it became an issue, but I did use to actually munch on them in a little bowl after school.
I wonder if it's not some left over instinct from when there were huge shortages of food? If you absolutely had no access to any food, that intense craving for dirt or whatever could save your life.
For me it was rust. i was obsessed with wanting to taste rust. I was anemic, so that's probably why, but it was really weird.
I have never heard of this, very interesting. I would think they would just run blood tests on the pregnant women with PICA cravings and then advise her to eat what she was lacking, i.e. meat for iron, etc. Very interesting, glad to hear it's pretty rare though.
my friend had pica during both of her pregnancies and she was really embarassed about it. she had extreme cravings to eat anything soap-like, especially laundry detergent. it got so bad for her that sometimes she would shove freshly washed (dry) towels in her moth to try to taste the soap in them. she is a normal person, too (despite the pica making you think the contrary!), and when she is un-pregnant she talks about how freakish she thinks she was behaving, but that it was uncontrollable.
You must log in to post.
| Visit our sister sites | eHarmony Online Dating |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| MissBoPeep | 37 |
| hisgoosiegirl | 36 |
| ndreighton | 30 |
| Mrs.KMM | 28 |
| beargoose | 27 |
| Gemstone | 24 |
| Beckster329 | 23 |
| BetterSherm | 20 |
| Rivendeler | 20 |
| KCKnd2 | 20 |
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| roxy821 | 2 |
| hergreenapples | 1 |
| Gabrielle123 | 1 |
| BayStateBride | 1 |
| totheislnds | 1 |
| shimmerofheaven | 1 |
| Mrs Sarah McK | 1 |
| rachiecakes | 1 |
| Running Elley | 1 |
| MrsCarnival | 1 |
I have never heard of "Pica" cravings before. But I just saw a pregnant girl on TV with a PICA craving. Have you heard of this before?! If you haven't, get this: It's when pregnant women have non-food cravings.
Copied this from the American Pregnancy Association:
"The most common substances craved during pregnancy are dirt, clay, and laundry starch. Other pica cravings include: burnt matches, stones, charcoal, mothballs, ice, cornstarch, toothpaste, soap, sand, plaster, coffee grounds, baking soda, and cigarette ashes."
Arghhh!!!!