EP15.03: Association of pregnancy food cravings and perinatal outcomes

Food cravings are common during pregnancy. Despite its high incidence, the potential clinical impact of food cravings is still unclear. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between food cravings and perinatal outcomes. A retrospective study was conducted on the existing database of the IMPACT BCN trial (2017-2020), a randomised clinical trial involving 1,221 pregnant women at high-risk randomly allocated at 19-23 weeks' gestation into three groups: a Mediterranean diet intervention, a Stress reduction program or non-intervention. Between November 2022 and March 2023, all trial participants were reapproached to participate in the current study. A phone interview was undertaken following a standardised questionnaire on pregnancy food craving. Comparisons between patients who experienced craving and those who did not were assessed by Student's t-test for continuous variables and Pearson's chi-squared test for categorical variables. Among 659 pregnant women who completed the Food Craving Questionnaire, a total of 352 women (53.4%) experienced cravings during pregnancy. Participants in the present study were distributed equally on the IMPACT BCN trial arms. No significant associations were observed between food cravings and gestational diabetes, hypertensive disorders or fetal growth restriction. Women who experienced food cravings showed higher rates of labour induction for fetal criteria (55.1% vs. 44.3%; p = 0.006) and intrapartum fetal distress (26.2% vs. 5.3%; p = 0.06) as compared to non-craving patients. The present study suggests an association between maternal food cravings during pregnancy with labour induction and intrapartum fetal distress. Future studies are warranted to deepen in the (patho)physiology of food cravings and its potential association with perinatal outcomes.