Recent Research Recommends Pregnant Women to Eat More Chocolate During Pregnancy

The study conducted by Society for Maternal and Fetal Medicine indicates that there are some surprising benefits associated with eating chocolate when a woman is pregnant. The findings suggest that consumption of chocolate can improve placental health and also lower the preeclampsia risk in pregnancy.

When a woman experiences very high blood pressure during her pregnancy, it is referred to as the preeclampsia. This is possible even in women who have no history of hypertension before being pregnant. "If undiagnosed, preeclampsia can lead to eclampsia, a serious condition that can put you and your baby at risk, and in rare cases, cause death," explains WebMD.

For the purpose of research, 129 women were made to eat chocolate during their pregnancy between 11 and 14 weeks. Each woman was given 30 grams of chocolate per day to eat. In the study, some participants were given chocolate with high-flavanol content and the other group was given low-flavanol content chocolates. It is through flavanol, present in chocolates, that pregnant women really benefit.

However, the research results revealed that regardless of eating high flavnol or low flavanol chocolate during pregnancy, the participants experienced better uterine, and improved fetal and placental circulations, compared to women who did not eat chocolate at all. "This study indicates that chocolate could have a positive impact on placenta and fetal growth and development and that chocolate's effects are not solely and directly due to flavanol content," study author Emmanuel Bujold, M.D., stated via Fit Pregnancy.

The right quantity of chocolate that a pregnant woman should eat is about five servings of dark chocolate every week in her third trimester, reveals a related study. This quantity is most effective in prevention of preeclampsia.