Cravings, food choices affect baby??

[taylorttc]

I may have asked this question 3000 times but I'm asking again haha!!

Does what we eat during pregnancy affect babies birth weight ?

I'm terrified of having a enormous baby but at the same time I am craving crap, dominos, KFC etc.. 3 times a week maybe..

Can't help but think I'll give birth to a 12lb baby hahaha.

Opinions?? I'm trying to even it out with salads and fruit but I cannot help it !!

 

[pinkpassion]

There is evidence suggesting both. A lot of people say what you eat can and will affect babies growth, but on the flip side others say no it's genetics! I tend to lean more towards the what you eat can affect babies size group, but that's just based on personal experience and seeing others experiences!

 

[DobbyForever]

I'm in the camp of genetics playing a big role. BUT eating, as you said, like crap is going to do far worse things than threaten your vaginal cavity with a huge baby. Too much fatty foods in utero has been linked to developmental disorders and delays in early childhood. Not to mention those types of foods tend to put you on track to gain more weight and put you a ggreater risk for gestational diabetes and preterm labor and having more weight than you can lose later.

I know it's hard to resist but those foods are banned from the house. I just don't buy them/keep them at home. When I get a craving, I eat something healthy (fruits and veggies). If after three days I still crave fat then I'll get one fatty treat but I limit that to once every few weeks. There are obvious cheats (if we are going out for dinner I eat what I would prepregnancy).

 

[SonnyH]

I think it's mostly genetics. My tiny sized cousin who kept running 10k's & eating her crazy strict diet in pregnancy had a nearly 10lb baby! Quite a suprise to everyone that said, there is a lot of evidence to suggest babies food tastes are initially developed in the womb. Babies in the womb have been shown to drink more amniotic fluid after you eat something sweet than savoury and it's thought that might lead to the sweet tooth the majority of us have! There is some interesting research out there on it!

Diet is more for your health really. The rules of healthy eating don't stop because you are pregnant sadly! You just need a few more calories mostly in the 3rd trimester and even then, not many more! To try stick to a good diet, we pre-plan our meals for the week (all home cooked and we make our own lunches too), do a weekly shop and don't buy anything else! It does help. We go out to eat maybe once or every other week and I eat whatever I want! That said, we went out yesterday and baby was kicking my stomach so hard throughout the meal that I could only eat half my food. My stomach was hurting so much!

 

[xdxxtx]

Baby's size is determined by genetics, unless you have a complication that causes baby to have low birth weight or diabetes which will cause your baby to be on the bigger side

I ate nothing but crap with my first pregnancy, and he was 12 days early and weight 7 lb 13 oz. My second- and third- borns were born on their due dates weighing 7lb14oz and 7lb11oz. My fourth baby was 9 lb 2 oz 2 days late, which is the estimated size my first-born would have been if born on his due date. I ate much healthier with my subsequent pregnancies, minus weekly (sometimes more often) treats for cravings.

 

[dairymomma]

My dr feels that what you eat can affect the baby's size but unless you have complications like gestational diabetes, it's not going to be THAT big of a deal if you aren't eating crap food all the time. And genetics plays a big role too. I tend to have 6lb babies no matter how much I gain or what I eat while DH's aunt follows the gestational diabetes diet because she has had it in previous pregnancies and STILL had 8-9lb babies. (Her heaviest was 10lb5oz.)

But gaining too much weight yourself can lead to pregnancy complications so trying to eat healthy is the best bet for both you and baby no matter what.

ETA: I do indulge in my pg craving foods but my trick to not over doing it with the junk food is 1. to not keep it in the house and 2. only letting myself have it after my doctor's appts. For example, I've been craving fast food burgers for weeks but I only let myself get them when I'm in town for a prenatal appt. I also keep loads of fresh fruit and veggies on hand at home and prep as much as I can so it's easy to grab a pack of carrot sticks or a sliced apple when I'm hungry instead of a bag of chips. But limiting my junk food like that works. I can control my cravings for the most part because I know I've got an appt coming up in X number of days and I really look forward to it.

Another trick is to make healthier versions at home. If you want Dominoes, make your own pizza and load on veggies while you are at it. If you want that McDonald's burger, fry one up on the stove. If you want chips and dip, try veggies and hummus. It's not the same but sometimes it tricks your brain enough that the craving goes away.

 

[Cariad_x]

I'm in the genetics camp personally. With my son I ate quite a lot of crap and curry was my major craving. He was 6lbs 15oz when he was born and most certainly isn't delayed or unhealthy in any way: he's a year above in his assessments and his nursery teacher says he's the top of his class at nursery. His only health issues are through genetics (asthma from his Dad, eczema from me).

His cousin was only 5lbs 13oz when he was born and his dad and I were both small. Healthy eating is beneficial in pregnancy for all the reasons stated but I wouldn't get too hung up if you want a KFC once in a while

 

[ARuppe716]

I ate ok with my son, not great but not horrendous. I gained almost 60 lbs and he came out 7.6 lbs. This time I'm eating much better and more active. I've gained half of what I gained with him at this point and she is measuring about the same as he did.

 

[loeylo]

Don't worry. I put on 25lbs when pregnant, my daughter was less than 7lbs and is a fantastic eater now. wheb I was pregnant I ate like a literal horse. I could only keep down starchy foods as everything else gave me heartburn or made me sick. I lost all the baby weight by my six week checkup despite having a c-section.

What I did was I still had what I wanted, but I made it healthier. I made my own pizza using a wholemeal wrap as the base, pas Sara and Italian herbs as the tomato sauce, and I went easy on the cheese. I also added whatever vegetables I had in the house and rocket leaves on top. If I fancied something sweet I had a small Milky Way. I also made my own chips by parboiling potato and then spraying with low calorie cooking oil and putting them in the oven. I ate lots of bagels too so I always made sure I had some as I found that I could top them with different things depending on what I fancied.

I honestly ate roughly every hour from second trimester onwards, one day I had porridge and a bagel for breakfast, fruit at break time (which I brought back up!) then a baked potato at lunch. I was famished after work and really fancied a fritter so I got a roll and fritter on my way home. I was hungry again before dinner so I made a pizza with the intention of that being my dinner, however come dinner time I was hungry again so I had a meal and then I had bread and ham for supper. I'm not exaggerating when I say I ate non stop!

 

[Xpecta]

Welp, going by my experience, I gained excessive amounts of weight in my other pregnancies and it was all junk. Like serious junk. My babies all came out under 7 lbs. Sooooo I'm going with genetics. However, it sucked for me. Just try to not beat yourself up when you see the scale go up.