Pica – the strange eating disorder affecting pregnant women
Pica is the term used to describe a rare eating disorder which involves the craving of non-food items such as cleaning products and most commonly effects pregnant women and young children.
26 year old Emma Veness from Birmingham is just one of many mothers-to-be who find themselves developing odd cravings. Now pregnant with her second child, Emma has found herself drawn to the taste and smell of furniture polish, so much so that she has had to seek medical advice.
The 26 year old told the Daily Mail that she now has to eat polish at least three times a day to keep cravings under control and since falling pregnant has consumed around three cans through either spraying directly into her mouth or by spraying onto a duster and sucking.
‘While I’m pregnant I try to stop myself and limit it to just a few times a day, as I’m scared of harming the baby. But I know that if I only had myself to think about I would be eating can after can of the stuff.’ She said.
Concerned that her strange habit may be affecting the health of her baby, Emma, who has low iron levels, visited the doctor to see what steps she could take to put a stop to her habit. Her GP confirmed that she was suffering from ‘Pica’ and recommended that she try to eat chocolate in the place of polish.
‘I feel so guilty about doing it as I don’t know whether it might be harming the baby, but I could have a million chocolate bars and it wouldn’t make any difference – when I want polish, it’s the only thing that will do.’
A spokesman from the eating disorder charity Beat has said that this condition can have serious long term health implications especially in pregnant women so doctors should really try to educate themselves about Pica.
‘We would urge GPs to make themselves more familiar with this condition and other disordered eating patterns so people can get the help they need.’
For information about eating disorders and how counselling may be able to help, please visit our fact-sheet for further details.
View the original Daily Mail article.