cravings

Ladies I have had the strangest craving to eat clay. Smoked Salty clay. I can almoust close my eyes and taste it. I asked my mother what she thought about this and she said in my country, a lot of pregnant women crave and eat this special clay. There is a store here that sells this clay but I am worried about how it may affect me with the wls and all, my mother says it has minerals and calcium in it but my OB knows nothing about it. She recomended Calcium tablets, I have been taking them but it still has not stopped the cravings. Anybody have any advice?

 I've heard that craving non-food items (called PICA) is a symptom of low iron. Have you had your iron checked lately?

PICA is fairly common in pregnancy.  However, when eating any "non-food" item you have no way of knowing what you're really eating.  Unlike food processing plants, a plant that makes clay or other items is not held to quality standards to prevent you from ingesting hazardous things.  For example, rodent droppings, toxic chemicals, etc could all end up in the clay.  I'd definitely discuss this with your OB, and avoid giving in to these cravings.  You don't want to risk exposing your baby (and you) to harmful chemicals.