What causes cravings during pregnancy?

You know when you are a surrogate that you are creating a family for another person or couple. But the pregnancy is still yours to experience just like any other pregnancy. That means you will probably experience all the pregnancy cravings and hormones that go with having a baby as well. Just what causes those crazy cravings, though?

Hormones

According to Psychology Today, there is no definite answer to what causes pregnancy cravings, but there are plenty of hypotheses. One assumption is that these unusual cravings are caused by the large shift in hormones during pregnancy. During that time, a pregnant woman has more Neuropeptide Y (NPY) which works as an appetite stimulant. Although this doesn’t explain why women crave the particular foods that they do, it can help explain why they experience such an increase in appetite.

Diabetes

Surrogate mothers who tend to crave a lot of sweet treats during their pregnancies may actually have diabetes. Some pregnant women develop a condition called gestational diabetes. It’s a type of glucose intolerance that is specific to pregnancy and makes women crave a large number of sugary foods during their second trimester of pregnancy. If you’re a surrogate mother dealing with this, there’s no need to worry. Most causes of gestational diabetes sort themselves out by the time you are ready to deliver the baby.

Neuroscience

One of the more controversial explanations for pregnancy cravings comes from neuroscience researcher, Michael Persinger. In the early 2000s, Persinger hypothesized that the reason for pregnancy cravings lies within the complex nature of a seldom-used part of the brain known as the insular cortex. It’s commonly referred to by neuroscientists as the “fifth lobe” of the brain; however, there’s still so much that researchers don’t know about it. Persinger, though, believes that the uterus is associated with that part of the brain, so he stated that pregnancy cravings could be caused by the slight shifting of the uterus, causing the signals in the insular cortex to act differently.

While the specific reasons why some pregnant women crave pickles and peanut butter while others crave cheeseburgers and french fries during pregnancy are not clear, there are a few different hypotheses that attempt to explain this phenomenon you may experience when carrying a surrogate baby.

Our team is ready to help you begin the process of becoming a surrogate mother. Call 1-866-41-SURRO to speak with our Executive Program Director, Stephanie Scott, to get started!