Another Excuse, Chocolate makes babies Happy!
Hi, I am up, cant sleep so I am wiating for tea to boil and looking at MDC. You know there is some (sparse) evidence that chocolate is good for moms (yes, we know we think it's good for us!) and babies, too, in pregnancy? It was kinda of a bad study, it was like 300 moms and they reported at 3 months after birth that their babies were happy. It was self reported, and basically three months after birth the moms that ate chocolate in pregnancy were more likely to say their babies were happy. Their was no data on how much they ate or what form.....I kinda of theorize that the relaxed moms that let themselves enjoy chocolate in pregnancy were relaxed and let themselves enjoy their babies, too. But, anyway, here's the report on the study, if you need to justify those cravings! Other magnesium rich foods are greens and hazelnuts, but why, when chocolate is so much more fun!
There goes my tea water, chamomile and rose petals for me......
Had my fill of chocolate chip cookies earlier in the day!
Heidi
Chocolate in pregnancy keeps baby happy
10:55 07 April 04
Exclusive from New Scientist Print Edition. Subscribe and get 4 free issues.
Expectant mothers can take heart this Easter. Tucking into chocolate eggs is good for the baby, according to a study of over 300 women - especially if you are feeling a bit on edge.
Katri Raikkonen at the University of Helsinki, Finland, and her colleagues asked pregnant women to rate their stress levels and chocolate consumption.
After the babies were born, they looked for an association between the amount of chocolate their mothers had eaten and the babies' behaviour. Six months after birth, the researchers asked mothers to rate their infants' behaviour in various categories, including fear, soothability, smiling and laughter.
The babies born to women who had been eating chocolate daily during pregnancy were more active and "positively reactive" - a measure that encompasses traits such as smiling and laughter.
And the babies of stressed women who had regularly consumed chocolate showed less fear of new situations than babies of stressed women who abstained.
The researchers point out that they cannot rule out the possibility that chocolate consumption and baby behaviour are both linked with some other factor.
But they speculate that the effects they observed could result from chemicals in chocolate associated with positive mood being passed on to the baby in the womb.
Journal reference: Early Human Development (vol 76, p 139)
http://www.newscientist.com/news/pri...?id=ns99994854
I haven't had a lot of craving this time around, but lately all I can think about is chocolate milk, brownies, dark chocolate...mmmm..... 
In fact, my husband is on a prego run to the store right now for some chocolate ice cream. Hey, it's what the baby wants! 
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