If you have been an ardent fan of hot, spicy dishes and always felt like eating them, you might be wondering whether you could continue satisfying your taste buds during pregnancy.
Can you eat spicy food while pregnant?
Mild spicy foods can be eaten once in a while in controlled amounts, though dishes filled with chilies may be dangerous for your health leading to nausea, heartburn, or vomiting. Speculations of spicy food trigger bleeding and cause miscarriage, though this is just a myth without any sufficient proof to justify this fact.
Craving for spicy food in early pregnancy: Is it a sign?
Not always, but as it says that once you have conceived, you might start craving for certain foods which did not interest you before. If spicy foods belong to this list, then you can be pregnant.
Can you eat it when breastfeeding?
People mostly say that a mother’s consumption of spicy food while nursing may make her baby colicky. However, this might differ from one child to the other. While some would enjoy the garlicky flavor of milk, a few might also express discomfort after having it. Hence monitor your baby’s behavior to understand what foods you take affect him.
How can eating spicy food while pregnant be bad?
If you are not accustomed to spicy food, do not experiment with it during pregnancy, as a change in diet at this time can lead to stomach upset and diarrhea. Your digestive system is also sensitive, with bouts of morning sickness starting as early as the 6th week and heartburn troubling you mostly in your third trimester. Eating extremely spicy food in the first, second, or third trimester would aggravate your symptoms, making you feel sicker.
Does eating spicy food harm your baby?
It does not hurt or affect your baby directly, as only a small fraction of what you eat is transported to the fetus via the amniotic sac. However, your baby would also be impacted if it makes you sick.
Does spicy food induce labor?
There have been tales of spicy and heat-inducing food-inducing labor because of its ability to stimulate the digestive system and increase prostaglandin production. However, there is no sufficient evidence of this fact. Eating it in the final trimester might not induce labor but could lead to severe heartburn.
What does craving spicy food when pregnant mean?
As old wives’ tales suggest, craving spicy or salty foods during pregnancy indicates a boy-in-waiting. Though this gender prediction is merely a myth, a survey on a social networking site revealed that women expecting boys had a higher craving for spicy food. In contrast, those having girls were more inclined toward chocolate.
References:
- https://www.babycenter.com/404_is-it-safe-to-eat-spicy-foods-during-pregnancy_1246919.bc
- https://www.babycenter.in/x562558/is-it-safe-to-eat-spicy-food-when-pregnant-or-breastfeeding
- https://www.babycentre.co.uk/x562558/is-it-safe-to-eat-spicy-food-when-pregnant-or-breastfeeding
- http://www.newkidscenter.com/Spicy-Food-And-Pregnancy.html
Dr. Mashiach has completed his MD at the Sackler School of Medicine, TAU; specialization in gynecology at the Lis Maternity and Women’s Hospital, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center; fellowship in Endoscopy at the Polyclinique de I’Hotel-Dieu, Universite d’Auvergne, Clermont, France.
He is a Senior Physician, Director of the Department of Gynecology, which provides routine and preventative care services to its patients and a full range of gynecological surgical procedures for adequately managing its patients with benign gynecologic disorders.
He offers advanced care in all gynecological subspecialties such as Urogynecology, Colposcopy, Fetal Loss Clinic, and Post Menopausal Clinic.
