Pregnancy Cravings Driving You Up the Wall? Ayurveda Explains What to Do

Women are known for their peculiar cravings during pregnancy, suddenly developing very strong likes or dislikes towards certain food items. Very often, these emotions are in contrast to their otherwise usual behavior. Ayurveda has a very interesting explanation for these cravings, known as dowhrudyam.

Dowhrudini - One Body, Two Hearts

Ayurveda believes that when a women is pregnant, she has two hrudyas (heart) in her body - hers and her baby’s. That’s why she’s also known as dowhrudini.

The Growing Chetana of the Baby

The foetus achieves chetna (consciousness) in the 5th month, developing desires of its own. When these meet the desires of the mother, they tend to manifest in the form of contrasting likes and dislikes.

Dowhrudyam - Not to be Dismissed Lightly

Ayurveda does not takes these cravings lightly. In fact, physicians and family members are advised to satisfy any cravings an expecting mother may have, otherwise the foetus could develop physical or functional abnormalities.

What about adverse cravings?

When the mother’s cravings could be harmful for the foetus, she should use her yukthi (logical reasoning) to satisfy them and render them harmless. For instance, if she desires excessively salty and sour foods, she should have amalaki (Phyllanthus emblica) and saindhava lavana (rock salt). If she wants to have too many hot and pungent food items, like pickle, that can be fulfilled by having ginger and lime juice, instead.

With a little bit of clever thinking, it’s possible to sate your cravings while also maintaining good health. To know more about how to bring a healthy baby into this world, speak to one of our doctors about the Jiva AyurBaby program. Dial 0129-4040404 or click on ‘Speak to a Doctor’ under the CONNECT tab in Jiva Health App.