When you’re pregnant, your sense of smell and taste can be temporarily turned upside down! Pregnant women generally have the unofficial license to demand certain types of food, and many a long-suffering husband has trotted out dutifully at all hours to fulfill their wife’s every gastronomical desire. Some lucky ones (and their husbands) remain unscathed by any form of cravings, but most do experience stronger preferences during their pregnancy.
Eight mothers share with us some of their weird and wonderful pregnancy food cravings:
“I was never into chicken wings but when I was pregnant, I would stop by KFC or the western food stall to get them, much to my husband’s delight because it was his favourite food. Therein came our first nick name for our baby – Chicken Little! “ – Irene, 32
“I fell in love with ‘san lou hor fun’ (thick kway teow traditionally served with fish and beansprouts) during my second trimester, and was chowing down 2-3 plates a week at the coffee shop near my workplace. Until my gynae told me I was gaining weight a little too quickly and needed to cut back on this rather fattening dish!” – Dot, 31
“I didn’t have much craving for anything, except for the occasional need to grab a Macdonald cheeseburger (which i hadn’t been eating for years prior to that)! “ – Charmaine, 32
“I found that I could not bring myself to eat bean sprouts during both of my pregnancies. During the first, I began to take a liking to tomatoes and learnt to love it. Salads were a big favourite too. In the second, I started to dislike it and even though my baby is almost 8 months old now, I have yet to regain my appetite for them!” – Ruth, 28
“I didn’t really have food cravings – and my hubby gives thanks for that! Though I had a real sweet tooth during and after my pregnancy, and really loved cakes, pastries, macarons, dark chocolate. Nothing too sweet – but desserts in general. And this ‘craving’ has remained ever since!” – Xin Yi, 28
“During my first trimester, I found myself gagging whenever we passed by hawker centres and I caught a whiff of the oil fryers and fish sauce. Seriously, I just couldn’t eat most local food until the second trimester. For those first few months, I basically survived on sandwiches, wraps, cheese, fruit and potato chips – all things western!” – Thea, 32
“With my second pregnancy, I would crave for cold tofu in the middle of the night and would make sure I got my husband to buy them from the 24 hrs Shop & Save downstairs for me! I would add some soy paste and mild light sauce and gobble it down in seconds!” – Yvonne, 30
“While my husband was thankful that I never had any food cravings during my three pregnancies, he used to get really irritated because I developed garlic phobia – I was always pointing out how smelly food was, and ruining his appetite for meals with my comments!” – Li Yee, 36
By Dorothea Chow
