Savoury mince and watermelon sandwiches, wet dirt “¦ hot cross bun with bacon “” you seriously can’t make this stuff up! As weird and stomach lurching as it sounds, women crave these types of umm “¦ delicacies during pregnancy and there may even be a reason why!

Pregnancy cravings are a great conversation starter among mums. We love hearing about other people’s weird scale, how deep they have plunged into the wacky-cravings-pool, listing off their midnight snack stories, how they gorged on hot chips and dipped Paddle Pops into nutella. We just love it.

But perhaps we shouldn’t write off these cravings as just that, maybe there is more to it than we think.

Some health professionals insist that cravings are insignificant happenings caused by the flood of hormones women experience during pregnancy, setting off all sorts of crazy brain activity, including changes in appetite.

Anecdotal evidence supports the theory that cravings are simply, “we want what we want”, which includes bags and bags of salt and vinegar chips.

On the other hand, some health experts believe cravings are caused when the body is seeking stocks of deficient nutrients, and is in desperate need of replenishment.

Some of these indicators may be:

Craving ice because of a deficiency in iron,
Eggs and red meat for a replenishment in protein and fat,
Midnight snacking on pickles for salt,
Layering cheese on our sandwich and sculling milk for calcium,
Chocolate may indicate a lack of magnesium, so that’s why we eat a whole block,
And, peanut butter may mean you’re lacking vitamin B and/or fish oil.

For those who crave the ultra-weird non-food items such as dirt, washing powder, soap and even petrol, don’t feel ashamed, there is actually a theory behind this too. The phenomenon is called pica, from the latin word for magpie “” a bird that’ll eat almost anything. Some believe it stems from an iron deficiency. Either way, it is advised to exercise restraint.

All in all, it would be foolish to think your body is not trying to tell you something when waking you at midnight to scull a carton of milk, and ignoring it won’t make the cravings go away. It may even have the opposite effect (binge, bingey, binge).

If you’re at all confused about what your body is craving, just listening to it is a good place to start. Chances are it’s sending you messages; you just haven’t been paying attention.