6 reasons why pregnant women need to eat chocolate more often

Food cravings during pregnancy can be weird.

From cheese slices to pancakes to chocolate, pregnancy can make you crave everything in the middle of the night.

And because you’re eating for two, there’s no one to stop you.

Some women crave a bit of chocolate too much. If you are one of them and are worried about overeating, here is good news for you.

A craving for chocolate can keep you and your baby healthy, according to new studies.

1. Eat chocolate while pregnant

According to studies, eating chocolate during pregnancy can help keep mother and baby healthy by reducing the risk of preeclampsia and improving placental function. Not so, there are more reasons why eating chocolate during pregnancy is nothing to feel guilty about. Here are six benefits.

2. Baby is happier

According to a study done in Finland, women who ate chocolate during pregnancy reported having happier and more energetic babies.

3. Helps manage stress

Since your hormones are all over the place during these nine months, it can be really stressful. Studies say chocolate can help reduce your stress levels. Studies have even found that eating dark chocolate daily significantly reduces stress levels.

4. Reduce the possibility of miscarriage

Although there is not one remedy that you can follow to prevent miscarriage. But it was found that pregnant women who ate chocolate daily were 20% less likely to have a miscarriage in the first trimester.

5. Helps maintain your weight

A piece of chocolate can help with weight loss. Say yes to dark chocolate, to maintain healthy weight gain and lower cholesterol levels.

6. Reduce the risk of preeclampsia

One of the recent studies reported that eating chocolate daily can reduce the risk of preeclampsia (high blood pressure) which can cause premature birth, seizures, blood clots and even death. Chocolate consumption reduces the risk of preeclampsia by 50%.

7. Fetal development is better

Some studies show that women who eat chocolate every day during pregnancy have better placenta and fetal development.