Eating Chocolate Is Great For Your Unborn Baby!

A new study has shown that eating chocolate every day can help your unborn baby grow and help the placenta whilst you are pregnant.

Chocolate_pregnant_breastfeeding

Research to be presented to the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine examined whether high-flavanol chocolate could reduce pre-eclampsia, a late-term disorder that can result in a range of serious health problems for both the mother and the foetus.

The study centered on Flavanols – a type of compounds that are found in cocoa. Commonly found in dark, bitter chocolate, the compounds have been linked to a wide range of health benefits included reduced blood pressure.

The effects of low and high-flavanol chocolate was studied with a group of pregnant women across a twelve week period. Pre-eclampisa, gestational hypertension, placenta weight and birth weight were measured throughout this time.

Results demonstrated that an improvement in blood flow across both the low and high-flavanol chocolate intake groups of the women that were studied.

“This study indicates that chocolate could have a positive impact on placenta and foetal growth and development and that chocolate’s effects are not solely and directly due to flavanol content,” researcher Emmanuel Bujold said.

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20 Comments

- - meedee said
  - 12 Feb 2016
    9:20 pm
Well this is just so darn annoying. Why oh why wasnt this blasted all over the internet when i was pregnant??? ggrr
- mom94125 replied
  
  28 Feb 2016 , 3:50 pm
  lol at least you will know better in case there is a next time
- - Mummytoabeautifulprincess said
  - 09 Feb 2016
    11:21 pm
Awesome! haha

- - renae said
  - 09 Feb 2016
    9:30 pm
I wish I had come across this info when I was pregnant! haha!!

- - mom74640 said
  - 09 Feb 2016
    10:28 am
Lke kj

- - Lori-Anne said
  - 09 Feb 2016
    8:14 am
I am going to be eating me some chocolate over the next 8 to 10 weeks then. Lucky I like dark chocolate… moderation is the key.

- - mom134803 said
  - 09 Feb 2016
    7:15 am
Yes I’m a chocolate believer, certainly when it’s raw.

- - mum4107 said
  - 09 Feb 2016
    5:30 am
That is good news. So long as people don’t assume it’s all chocolate. It’s dark bitter chocolate
- mom93821 replied
  
  09 Feb 2016 , 6:47 am
  Exactly – it is not an open pass to eat lots of chocolate!
- - mom103920 said
  - 09 Feb 2016
    2:08 am
Woo Hoo!!! So I could have eaten a little chocolate a little more often, with a little more comfort and a lot less guilt.

- - mom93821 said
  - 08 Feb 2016
    8:56 pm
‘Could have a positive impact’ – in moderation is still important in pregnancy.

- - june11 said
  - 08 Feb 2016
    8:45 pm
I hope the chocolate eaten has a high cocao level and less caffeine than some do.

- - BellaB said
  - 08 Feb 2016
    7:27 pm
I wish I’d known this while I was pregnant!

- - mom160421 said
  - 08 Feb 2016
    5:42 pm
I wish I’d had this information when I was pregnant.

- - rachelvk said
  - 08 Feb 2016
    5:24 pm
I am 35 weeks pregnant and haven’t really been into sweet things this pregnancy until later on… might to need to make up for this in the last month and get some chocolate into me now that I have such a good excuse to do so.

- - mom90758 said
  - 08 Feb 2016
    4:21 pm
Great news!! I’m sure it will make a lot of pregnant women happy!!

- - serotonin said
  - 08 Feb 2016
    3:23 pm
What wonderful news! Now I’m glad I ate so much chocolate during my pregnancies, haha!