Chocolate in Pregnancy?
Eating Chocolate may be Good for Pregnant Mothers and their Babies
Many pregnant women refrain from eating chocolate in the same way they cut out drinking coffee, for health reasons. Is eliminating chocolate when you are expecting really necessary or perhaps even a bad idea? The scientific research suggests that eating chocolate—the darker the better—during pregnancy may indeed be good for mother and baby.
Can Eating Chocolate Prevent Pre-eclampsia?
The chemical theobromine, which is known to stimulate the heart, relax smooth muscle and dilate blood vessels, is found in chocolate and a research study in 2008 at Yale University suggests that consumption by pregnant women of chocolate rich in the chemical could help prevent pre-eclampsia (a condition of hypertension in pregnancy associated with significant amounts of protein in the urine).
To determine whether chocolate's suspected cardiovascular benefits might help prevent pre-eclampsia the scientists studied 2,291 women, who had each given birth to a baby. The mothers who had consumed the most chocolate and those whose babies had the highest concentration of theobromine in their cord blood were the least likely to develop pre-eclampsia. Women who had eaten five or more servings of chocolate a week in their third trimester of pregnancy were 40 percent less likely to develop pre-eclampsia than those who had eaten chocolate less than once a week. The researchers said that theobromine might improve circulation within the placenta while at the same time blocking oxidative stress. See "Chocolate Consumption in Pregnancy and Reduced Likelihood of Pre-eclampsia", Epidemiology: Vol 19(3) May 2008, 459–464.
Chocolate Makes You Happy
In 2004 researchers at the University of Helsinki, Finland asked over 300 pregnant women to rate their psychological stress levels and chocolate consumption. Six months after the birth of their babies, the mothers rated their babies' behaviour in various categories, including fear, soothability, smiling and laughter. The babies born to mothers who had eaten chocolate daily during pregnancy rated more positively the temperament of their infants. The babies of stressed mothers who had regularly eaten chocolate showed less fear of new situations than babies of stressed women who had not consumed chocolate. The researchers speculated that the happy behaviour observed in the babies might result from chemicals in chocolate, which are associated with positive mood, being passed on to the baby in the womb. See "Sweet babies: chocolate consumption during pregnancy and infant temperament at six months", Early Human Development: Vol 76, Issue 2, 139–145.
Chocolate Cravings
Dr. Michel Odent MD, an obstetrician who has had an enormous influence on the history of childbirth and health research over the last several decades and who achieved familiarity for introducing the concept of birthing pools and home-like birthing rooms, carried out a study about nutrition in pregnancy. The study involving 500 expectant mothers found that chocolate was the most commonly craved food during pregnancy. Dr. Odent observed that chocolate is rich in magnesium, an important catalyst for fatty acid metabolism and that magnesium is needed in increased amounts during pregnancy for the development of the foetus’ brain. He found that chocolate is also rich in flavonoids, which have potent antioxidant properties helping the cardiovascular, immune and cancer-fighting systems.
While the research supports the contention that pregnant women need not refrain from eating chocolate during pregnancy, it is clearly wise to avoid chocolate that is dense in sugar, calories, fat and additives as so many chocolate bars are. Dark chocolate is rich in iron and twice as high in flavonoids as milk chocolate. In fact, dairy products may inhibit the body’s absorption of flavonoids. So choose high quality, dark chocolate and don’t eat large amounts of it.. If you are expecting a baby and are craving chocolate perhaps it is because your body knows what is needed. A little bit of what you fancy may well do you good!
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