Kelly-Marie Pearce had one of the strangest cravings I've ever heard of while she was pregnant with her now 4-year-old son: sponges and sand! And not just little bites of each. No! We're talking hundreds of sandwiches made up of sponges filled with sand. Just thinking about it makes me gag!
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I mean, how did she not choke every time she caved in to her disgusting cravings?
Unbelievably, the poor mom thought it was just some kind of crazy fluke during her first pregnancy, but when she got pregnant a second time around, she had the exact same bizarre cravings. And I thought I was weird because I was addicted to pickled jalapeños!
I'd heard of pregnant women craving inedible stuff like dirt before, but I never imagined someone would actually find a sand and sponge sandwich delectable. And while we can make all kinds of jokes about Pearce's cravings, truth is the poor woman suffers from a rare eating disorder called Pica that is no laughing matter.
Although the cause of this uncommon practice is unknown, some in the medical profession have associated it with an iron deficiency. According to the American Pregnancy Association, the most common cravings of pregnant women with Pica are dirt, clay, and laundry starch. But some women have been known to also go for: soap, baking soda, charcoal, mothballs and cigarette ashes.
These substances can be extremely dangerous for both the mom-to-be and her unborn child. In Pearce's case, neither her children nor her were harmed by her crazy cravings, which I must say sounds very strange because I can't imagine someone ingesting a sponge without getting sick.
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