Can pregnant woman eat chocolate? Is it safe for the baby?

Chocolate is one of the favorite sweets of most people, from children to the elderly. It is difficult to find someone who does not like this food. And in pregnancy it is not much different.

At this stage, one of the most common doubts of mothers is whether the candy is released, what types and in what quantity.

Contents

Can pregnant woman eat chocolate?

The pregnant woman can eat chocolate in moderation (a 30g bonbon a day) as long as there are no medical recommendations preventing consumption. In fact, when the pregnant woman eats this candy, substances such as antioxidants are released and help to protect the placenta and can bring benefits.

Maintaining a healthy diet (with fruits, vegetables, cereals and lean meats) during pregnancy is important for the good development and growth of the baby, in addition to ensuring more quality of life and health for the mother.

What is the best type?

The best type for pregnant women to consume is the bitter medium , which contains a higher concentration of cocoa. 

This fruit has a large amount of antioxidants (which are substances responsible for protecting healthy cells).

Bitter chocolates tend to have between 40% and 50% cocoa. But in the market it is already possible to find chocolates with larger quantities (60% to 90%).

The higher the percentage of cocoa, the healthier the products, because they also contain less sugars, fats and milk.

On the other hand, chocolate is the least recommended type is white, rich in hydrogenated fats, dyes, flavorings and sugars.

In fact, it consists of hydrogenated fat, sugar, milk and processed cocoa butter – some don’t even contain cocoa remnants – and that’s why it gets the name “fake chocolate”.

When is the best time to eat?

There is no ideal time, but the ideal is to taste this sweet after meals, as a dessert.

Prefer, eat after lunch or a meal that is far from bedtime. It is worth remembering that chocolate contains caffeine, which can disrupt the time to relax and rest properly.

It can also be good to avoid fasting, especially milk versions. This is because eating sweets on an empty stomach can cause nausea and vomiting, which are already common conditions for some pregnant women.

What are the benefits of consuming chocolate during pregnancy?

There are lines of research to understand the benefits of consuming chocolate during pregnancy. So far it is known that candy helps in the protection and development of the placenta. The growth and formation of the baby’s organs and tissues also benefits from this food.

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Moms are benefited because chocolate releases the “happiness hormone” called serotonin . It causes a feeling of well-being and relaxation in the pregnant woman.

Some rumors say that the baby also feels this pleasure when the pregnant woman consumes chocolate.

But there is no scientific proof of this phenomenon, since the serotonin load released in the mother’s bloodstream does not cross the placenta to reach the baby.

Can pregnant woman eat chocolate before ultrasound?

Yes, the pregnant woman can eat chocolate before the ultrasound, as well as she can eat fruit or pasta. Although it is released, eating the candy before the imaging exam will not make the image any better.

That is, eating the sweetie before or close to the exam depends only on medical guidelines.

The quality of the ultrasound image depends on other factors such as clinic technology, the baby’s position and the characteristics of some maternal tissues (belly skin and placenta, for example).

Does eating chocolate during pregnancy make the baby feel agitated?

Chocolate releases caffeine into the mother’s bloodstream. This substance ends up reaching the baby through the placenta. That is, when eating chocolate, the pregnant woman is giving a small dose of caffeine to the baby, which naturally tends to get agitated.

Although this happens, it is not recommended to eat chocolate every day just to make the baby move.

This can end up creating a vicious circle and, over time, the baby will be waiting for this “stimulus” to move instead of stirring willingly.

Can pregnant woman eat chocolate with liquor?

Liquor is a drink made from a mixture of cereals, fruits, flowers, herbs and nuts with distilled alcoholic beverages such as whiskey, rum or vodka.

Therefore, it is best to avoid the consumption of chocolates with this drink to avoid complications caused by alcohol during pregnancy (such as risks of miscarriage, malformation of the baby and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome).

If the liquor is homemade or the pregnant woman is sure that there is no alcohol in its formula, then the consumption is released in a moderate way (this is because the drink still tends to have sugar and dyes, even if it is not alcoholic).

Does eating chocolate in pregnancy cause colic in the baby?

In fact, there is no scientific research that proves that the consumption of chocolate during pregnancy can cause colic in the baby or the mother (unless the pregnant woman eats a lot and has stomach pains, which will also happen with any other food that is ingested in excess).

What can end up confusing moms is that the consumption of chocolate can cause colic in the baby while he is breastfeeding.

The problem is that chocolate contains caffeine and everything a mother consumes affects breast milk.

This substance can cause abdominal pain and diarrhea in the baby, since the baby’s digestive system is newly formed and is still adapting to the process of ingestion and digestion. That is, during breastfeeding , nothing to eat this candy.

Can chocolate harm for pregnancy?

It depends . Anything that is consumed in excess can be bad and chocolate is no exception.

In general, if the pregnancy is healthy and the consumption of the candy is moderate (only a small piece of 30g per day), the chocolate tends to be harmless.

If there are exaggerations or daily intake, the pregnant woman may suffer from stomach pains, diarrhea , vomiting, heartburn, nausea, headaches and dizziness.

Contraindications

Chocolate contains sugar and fats. Therefore, the consumption of this sweet should be done in a moderate way by pregnant women with diabetes .

Pregnant women who have cardiovascular complications should eat chocolate in moderation, in order to prevent the present fat from increasing bad cholesterol (LDL) and causing problems in the circulatory system.

To find out exactly whether or not you can consume chocolate, talk to the obstetrician who accompanies your pregnancy.


Chocolate is a food that can be consumed by pregnant women who have a healthy pregnancy (without risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease or obesity ).

The newsroom of the Healthy Minute brings other information on care during pregnancy. Follow our posts !!!

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