Late Night Hunger During Pregnancy

Late night hunger during pregnancy is perfectly normal and in fact, is actually a good sign that your body is doing exactly what it needs to keep you and your baby fed and growing. But are them some late night snacks that should be avoided during pregnancy, keep reading to find out all the snacking details.

Late Night Hunger During Pregnancy – What Causes It?

Late night eating during pregnancy is often blamed on hormones and your growing baby. But it can more often be to do with your blood sugar – it could be too high or even too low depending on what you have eaten earlier in the evening.

If you have any concerns with regard to your blood sugar it is always worth getting it checked out by a doctor.

Is it Normal to be Hungry Late at Night During Pregnancy?

Now let me tell you that pregnancy hunger is very real and don’t let anyone tell you differently. It doesn’t matter if you are eating every three hours during the day you may still wake up with hunger pangs. And to be fair it’s no great surprise when you consider the work that your actual body is doing – it’s not only keeping you alive and moving but it is also growing a fully functioning human being as well.

Why Do I Get Hungry At Night When Pregnant?

The main reason why we get middle of the night hunger during pregnancy is often down to those pesky hormones – yes something else that we can blame them for!

During pregnancy the hormones that tell our body when we are hungry and when we are full start to fluctuate. This is mainly to encourage our little babies to grow at the correct rate for their age. But the downfall of these hunger hormones is that the confused signals that our body is getting means that you may find yourself wide awake at midnight absolutely starving!

Best Foods for Late Night Pregnancy Hunger

If you are suffering from late night hunger during pregnancy then we have you covered with some of the best snacks for curbing those cravings and leveling out that blood sugar.

Peanut Butter and Apples

A perfect protein and carb combo that will not only help with your cravings but also provide you with enough energy for when you get up the next morning. This one is also ideal if like me you have a little bit of a sweet tooth but don’t want to be reaching for the sweets and sending your blood sugar into overdrive.

Greek Yogurt

During pregnancy, we are often plagued with digestive issues that were never there before and this is mainly due to our fantastic hormones. So if you find yourself peckish in the middle of the night you don’t want to be looking for something that is going to be hard for your body to digest. This is where a lite snack such as greek yogurt, which you can get in easy to use pouches, will do the trick.

Cheese and Crackers

The trick to finding the perfect combination for your late night hunger during pregnancy is pairing easy to digest carbohydrates with a protein that will help to prevent your blood sugar from crashing and spiking and keep you more stable.

Pickles

Many pregnant women talk about their strange craving for pickles but there is believed to be an actual scientific reason behind it. While we are pregnant our bodies require higher amounts of sodium than our pre-pregnancy bodies and this is why we crave salty food such as pickles.

Cottage Cheese

This is another great quick and easy midnight snack. It doesn’t require any prep work and you can even add things like fruit to make it a little bit more exciting.

Chocolate

Like pickles, craving chocolate could also be our body’s way of telling us that we are missing some essential vitamins or minerals. Now, this does not give you the green light to eat an entire box of cookies but a square or two of chocolate will certainly not do you any harm, especially dark chocolate. Dark chocolate is not only high in magnesium but also contains a lot of antioxidants too.

Worst Foods for Late Night Pregnancy Snacking

Sometimes our bodies really do not crave the things that are the best for them and this is never more apparent that when we are pregnant. We aren’t saying it’s wrong or bad to have the occasional salty or sweet snack when we are craving it but there are definitely some foods that are not good for late night snacking while pregnant.

Spicy foods

Did you know that eating spicy food at night can increase your heart rate which can also make falling asleep even more difficult. Not only that but it can also cause that dreaded acid reflux or heartburn, neither of which any pregnant woman ever wants to experience.

Cereals high in sugar

If you are consuming cereals that have a high sugar content just before bed or during the night then they are definitely going to spike your sugar levels. Now, this is bad as it is going to mean that you are waking up already starving hungry. If you have to snack on cereal then choose ones that are high in fiber and low in sugar.

Chips, Chips, and more Chips

Chips do not contain very much nutritional value, but we all know that anyway. They are just refined carbohydrates that are not good for our health whether we are pregnant or not pregnant. Why not switch to something that has some more nutritional value for you and your unborn baby such as popcorn or crackers?

Fatty foods

Foods such as pizza are not going to be a good choice as they are high in fat, usually from cheese and other toppings. This does mean that you run the risk of waking up with a stomach ache.

Candy

Pregnant or not we all often crave candy or something sweet to take the edge off. Now candy can definitely provide you with that quick boost of energy that you need but they aren’t a good snacking option. Now if you are dancing chocolate reach for the dark stuff as this has the most nutritional value.

Wrapping Up

So late night hunger during pregnancy is definitely perfectly normal and some women suffer more than others. But the truth is if you do fancy some chocolate, or wake up craving ice cream at 2 am, giving in to them occasionally is not going to cause you or your baby any harm. However, make sure that you do not fall into the trap of thinking you are eating for two! Some of us love to eat a lot during pregnancy, no matter the time; some of us get food taste changes in our mouth and tend to avoid healthy foods – whatever category you are in, make sure you are consuming what’s good for your unborn!

Late Night Hunger During Pregnancy – Best & Worst Foods