All About Your Child

SOURCE: Epidemiology, May 2008.

There was a study done in New York, Reuters Health, which reports that indulging in chocolate during pregnancycould help ward off a serious complication known as preeclampsia.

Chocolate, especially dark chocolate, is rich in a chemical called theobromine, which stimulates the heart, relaxes smooth muscle and dilates blood vessels, and has been used to treat chest pain, high blood pressure, and hardening of the arteries, Dr. Elizabeth W. Triche of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut and colleagues write.

Preeclampsia, in which blood pressure spikes during pregnancy while excess protein is released into the urine, has many features in common with heart disease, the researchers add…..

…..Women who ate five or more servings of chocolate each week in their third trimester of pregnancywere 40 percent less likely to develop preeclampsia than those who ate chocolate less than once a week….

…..Theobromine could improve circulation within the placenta while blocking oxidative stress, or it could also be a stand-in for other beneficial chemicals found in chocolate, Triche and her team note in the May issue of Epidemiology.

“Our results raise the possibility that chocolate consumption by pregnant women may reduce the occurrence of preeclampsia,” they write. “Because of the importance of preeclampsia as a major complication of pregnancy, replication of these results in other large prospective studies with a detailed assessment of chocolate consumption is warranted.” – See Complete Report Here

If you have read My Profile, you would know that I am a chocolate lover to the core. To be honest, I need (notice I didn’t say I want) to pop in at least one or two chocolates everyday to complete my day, even if its M&Ms, so use your wildest imagination of my fridge…*laugh*. Its a craving. Its an addiction. Its like coffee to my husband and to Slouching Mom. Without one cup a day, they feel empty in the fulfillment section of their souls.

So this news came as an encouragement for my desire. Many say its too heaty, causes pimples, makes you fat, too much carbohydrates, nah….for me, I just love it! Ooops! Let me clear the air, I’m not pregnant in anyway or any sooner or may never be pregnant again, so I know this news doesn’t really concern me, just felt like sharing, maybe, just maybe, you might be a chocolate lover too and IS pregnant right now as you read, so go, eat more now.

This was what we had yesterday….chocolatie Mother’s Day Cake….

To all my pregnant mommies, especially Lynn, go on, grab a hearty piece…*wink* Oh, I’m not that unkind, the currently non-pregnant mommies come and eat too….

I had a great Mother’s Day, simply because my boys were angels yesterday, that’s what makes Mother’s Day special, isn’t it? Your kids listen to what you say without you repeating a thousand times and the best part was, I didn’t need to break up any fights yesterday!