Im 36 weeks pregnant and I have been eating Argo Laundry Starch. Is OK that I eat this? Will it harm my baby? I can't help to eat it!

You need to stop and you need to talk to your doctor right away. You could have a condition known as Pica.

What's Up with Pica? - Pregnancy Nutrition (http://www.netplaces.com/pregnancy-nutrition/important-issues/whats-up-with-pica.htm)

This is very dangerous to both you and your baby. I'm not going to get into the confusing chemistry of it, but you are depriving your baby of oxygen AND you risk a post partum hemorrhage, possibly bleeding to death.

Yes, you can help it!

Okay, to get a little more in depth now that I am home and not at work.

The starch, whether it be laundry starch, corn starch, dirt, etc. binds to the oxygen carrying red blood cells (hemoglobin) and prevents that cell from absorbing oxygen, thus lowering your oxygen saturations, which in turn prevents the fetus from receiving adequate oxygen stores. This can cause brain damage to the unborn fetus that will not be identified until later in childhood.

It also lowers your platelets (clotting factors) setting you up for a post partum hemorrhage which can cause excessive bleeding, to you, after baby is born, setting you up for DIC (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000573.htm) (Disseminated intravascular coagulation), which is a life threatening condition. In nursing jargon DIC stands for Death Is Coming. I have seen mothers and/or babies die because of this.

Is this what you want for yourself and your baby? As a labor and delivery nurse, I immediately go in to panic mode when one of my patients tells me this.

Now that you know the facts, it is imperative that you tell the nurse who is taking care of you that this is a craving you have so that she can be adequately prepared to take care of you should there be an issue before, during, or after your delivery. If she is not aware of this, there is a very good chance that you could bleed out and have to be admitted to the Intensive Care Unit for an extended period. There is also a very good chance that your baby could be admitted to the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) to make sure he/she is getting adequate oxygenation.


I can't help to eat it!
Now tell me that you can't help but to eat it.



I have a feeling you have been told this and that is why you are asking us here.

Please listen to the advice above and stop immediately. This is extremely harmful behavior and will only cause harm to continue it.