Got Milk?

Craving Dairy During Pregnancy

By Shannon McKelden

Some crave salt, some crave sweet and some pregnant women crave milk. During pregnancy, it seems, even women who aren't normally milk lovers can suddenly become obsessed with it.

Gina Ritter of Napa, Calif., hated milk her entire life. "Once my parents stopped forcing me to drink milk as a kid, the only time it touched my lips was in an occasional bowl of cereal," says the mother of three. But she found that, during one of her pregnancies, she suddenly craved it.

"It started about five months along, and I would drink glass after glass of milk with ice cubes from 23-ounce beer glasses," Ritter says. This craving lasted until her son came home, at which time she went back to disliking milk as she had prior to her pregnancy.

As with other cravings during pregnancy, no one is positive what causes women to desire one food or food group over another. A possibility, of course, is that the body's natural instincts kick into high gear to make sure it gets the nutrients it needs when it needs them.

"Craving dairy is one of the most common food cravings for pregnant women, especially during the first trimester while the embryo is undergoing tremendous growth," says Stella Metsovas, a certified nutritionist and owner of W8LESS Nutrition.

According to Metsovas, studies show that almost 75 percent of pregnant women crave dairy (with less than 10 percent actually consuming a healthy variety). "Researchers have tried to correlate cravings, such as calcium, to a women's genetic adaptation to pregnancy," she says. "For example, during the first trimester around week 5 to 6, the growth and development of nerve tissue takes place, with the heartbeat soon to follow. The reason behind [dairy] cravings may be that calcium provides a highway of electrical energy for our nervous system."

Ashley Koff, a registered dietitian in private practice and on staff at Cedar Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, says that cravings run the gamut during pregnancy. "I find dairy to be very polarizing," Koff says. "Women either [want] it a lot or not at all. Some of this has to do with how well their digestive systems tolerate dairy. Also, a lot of women increase their dairy thinking that they need the nutrients found in dairy for a healthy pregnancy."

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