All That and No Morning Sickness, Too!

Posted on Jul 19, 2011 | Blog Posts Category | | Print This Article
 

Strawberry
Picture Credit: Strawberry by Manchester-Monkey

 

 

Some women just seem to have it all: love, fame, fortune, and a happy family. Take, for example, Jenna Fischer, who plays Pam Halpert on NBC’s hit series, The Office. At a recent movie premier, she explained to a reporter that she was having a “really easy pregnancy,” and that she didn’t even have morning sickness.

Now, there are some old wives’ tales that will tell you that the absence of morning sickness is a bad thing, that it indicates that there’s a problem with the baby. However, there’s no evidence that’s come from the medical research community to support that claim as of yet.

Statistically speaking, Fischer is in a relatively fortunate minority. About three quarters of women experience some degree of morning sickness or another. For some, it’s just a little bit of upset stomach; for others, it can be much, much worse.

Fischer also told the reporter that she’s had a number of changing food cravings throughout the pregnancy. She said, that the cravings change, and that “In the beginning it was a lot of macaroni and cheese and Lucky Charms. Now it’s a lot of strawberries.”

Cravings are also especially common during pregnancy, with around 40 percent of women having some cravings during their pregnancy. While it’s not as common as morning sickness, of course, it is one of those stereotypical things that just happens to often ring true.

Less common than cravings, of course, is craving non-food items during pregnancy. This condition, known as “pica,” can be harmful if you crave the wrong sorts of things (and follow through on those cravings). Macaroni and cheese and Lucky Charms, of course, aren’t necessarily bad cravings, as long as they’re eaten in moderation.

With the dramatic changes that take place to your body during pregnancy – both the visible ones and the ones you can’t see such as hormonal changes, it’s surprising that more women aren’t affected in rather dramatic ways. It’s a testament to the miracle of the woman’s body that pregnancy and birth can even take place.

So, what about you? Do you (or did you) struggle with morning sickness? How about any food cravings?

 




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