Got Milk?

Craving Dairy During Pregnancy

By Shannon McKelden

Dairy product cravings aren't limited to milk alone, though. Other dairy productsthat can trigger cravings may be yogurt, milk, cream, cheese, cottage cheese and the ever-popular choice ice cream.

Shannon Rosenberg, mother of twins from Wesley Hills, N.Y., had to have cold cereal with milk every morning during her pregnancy. "Dry cereal or oatmeal just didn't cut it," she says. "If I didn't have my cereal and milk, I'd crave it till I did. And every night I had to have ice cream before I went to sleep. The few times I tried to skip it I couldn't fall asleep."

Rosenberg's cravings were pretty specific, too. The ice cream had to be mostly vanilla or a fruit flavor. "Coffee or chocolate ice cream didn't cut it," she says.

Pregnant women do need nutrients found in dairy products, predominantly calcium, which should be approximately 1,200 to 1,500 milligrams a day. (An 8-ounce glass of milk contains 300 milligrams, as does an 8-ounce yogurt.) But not all dairy products are created equal.

"Women should choose low-fat dairy products," says Dr. Madhuri Bewtra, an OB/GYN in Englewood, N.J. "Cheese, ice cream and whole milk contain a lot of calories. The key is always moderation to avoid a pregnant woman gaining too much weight."

Serena Robar, mother of three from Maple Valley, Wash., craved milk during her pregnancy literally by the gallon. "I had always liked milk, but around the 6th month of pregnancy with my first son I couldn't seem to get enough of it," she says. "I got to the point where I was drinking about a gallon of 2-percent milk a day. I would literally keep filling a tall glass and drink as though I was dying of thirst."

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