Can You Eat Chocolate While Pregnant 2024? Is It Safe for Baby Growth?

It’s no secret that pregnant women crave chocolate. It’s also no secret that eating healthy foods containing essential nutrients for fetal growth and mom’s well-being is a daily must. 

When stress levels are high though, or say, you’re under the pressure of growing a human life inside of you, reaching for the comfort of chocolate versus a healthy snack is a common occurrence.

Chocolate is the most craved food^[1] around. Women crave this food more than men do. So naturally, chocolate cravings can be undeniable during pregnancy. 

Many pregnant women wonder what types of foods are okay to eat and which to avoid. Can you eat chocolate while pregnant?

Let’s evaluate the safety of chocolate and how it may affect the expectant mom. There are both risks and benefits of choosing to eat chocolate during pregnancy that you need to be aware of. 

You can help yourself get used to the lower sugar content by increasing the cocoa percentage you choose by working your way up the scale. Start at 50% cocoa, then move up to 65%, until you reach the 70-85% cocoa chocolate bars. 

Can you have hot chocolate while pregnant? Yes, you can, but limit your consumption of this since it can be high in sugar which can lead to an unhealthy pregnancy. This would be okay for an occasional treat. There are even dark chocolate versions on the market now. 

The amount of your chocolate intake determines how safe it is for you. Too much chocolate can raise the risk of conditions you want to avoid during pregnancy. 

So how much chocolate can you eat? The recommended daily allowance^[2] is 30-60 grams a day, or 1-2 ounces. Everyone’s body tolerance is different. Listen to your body. If you are experiencing any stomach upset or acid reflux after eating it, you may want to cut back. 

Benefits of Eating Chocolate During Pregnancy

Chocolate during pregnancy is not only safe to eat, but it’s also full of health benefits for you and your baby if you’re eating the right kind. 

This study^[3] interestingly shows that the female subjects who ate 40 grams of chocolate a day for 2 weeks had reduced stress.

Another study^[4] concluded that the mothers who reported eating chocolate daily scored their infants at 6 months postpartum with a more positive temperament than those who rarely or never consumed chocolate. 

Moderate dark chocolate consumption has benefits^[5] that likely outweigh the risks of weight gain and other possible overconsumption effects. 

Some of those benefits can include the following: 

Superfood Powers

Eating dark chocolate in pregnancy has clear benefits, as documented on the nutrition label, indicating it has less sugar and fewer calories compared to other chocolates. 

Dark chocolate is also high-flavanol chocolate, meaning it contains flavonoids– important antioxidants that strengthen your immune system^[6]. 

Foods containing flavonoids are popularly called ”superfoods” because of their potential to protect our bodies against free radicals^[7], which are unstable atoms that damage our cells and cause illness. 

5-10 servings a day of these flavanol-filled foods are recommended for optimal health. Other foods high in flavanols include onions, fruits like blueberries and bananas, and teas like black and green tea. 

Lowering the Risk of Preeclampsia

Preeclampsia^[8], also called toxemia, is a dangerous complication that can occur during pregnancy. This usually begins after 20 weeks into pregnancy and can result in high blood pressure, protein in the urine, and damage to kidneys and other organs.

This study^[9] suggests that expectant mothers who were not regularly eating chocolate during the first trimester and third trimester were at a higher risk of preeclampsia than the ones who regularly consumed it. A 50% risk reduction was observed in those who were consuming 1-3 servings per week. 

Improving Blood Pressure

Some supplements can help with high blood pressure, but the naturally occurring compound from the cacao plant called theobromine can widen your blood vessels^[10]. This can improve your blood flow (and oxygenation of tissues) and blood pressure. 

Theobromine^[11] also has antiinflammatory and antitumor potential. Dark chocolate contains higher amounts of theobromine than other types of chocolate. 

So if you’re craving chocolate, choosing one with a high amount of cocoa can offer not only that comfort you’re looking for but possible protective effects, too!

Boosting your energy levels and metabolism

Chocolate contains iron and magnesium^[12], two nutrients that pregnant women are often low in. Dark chocolate contains more than 3 times as much magnesium^[5] as milk chocolate does and a whopping 5 times as much iron. The iron in chocolate has a helpful impact on the anemia to which pregnant women are prone.

These nutrients support your nerves and muscle function and increase your energy levels by moving oxygen around your body. Being sufficient in these minerals can also reduce the risk^[13] of preeclampsia, fetal growth restriction, and developmental difficulties. 

Risks of Eating Too Much Chocolate While Pregnant

Sticking to a balanced diet can be a challenge for pregnant women. The mood swings and increasing responsibility of growing a baby can put monitoring your calorie intake on the back burner. 

Pregnancy cravings may be hard to pass up at times. It’s best to be familiar with the risks of eating too much chocolate during pregnancy so you can avoid any complications that go with it. 

Weight Gain

Due to the amount of saturated fat and sugar intake that comes with eating chocolate containing cocoa liquor and cocoa butter, especially a lot of it, you could gain weight and increase your risk of coronary heart disease. Add in eating too much of any other unhealthy food and it can build up. 

If you’re filling up on chocolate, you’re less likely to make room for the healthy foods needed for a controlled amount of weight gain in pregnancy. 

Moms-to-be need to know that gaining too much weight can put them at a higher risk for gestational diabetes, which is high blood sugar in pregnant women. 

10% of all pregnancies are complicated by gestational diabetes, making the sugar in chocolate a significant concern.

Excess weight gain can also lead to gestational hypertension, a form of high blood pressure that can be additive to the hypertension of preeclampsia. 

Both gestational diabetes and gestational hypertension can label you a high-risk pregnancy. This can change your pregnancy outlook. Your provider may require additional testing and more frequent visits for monitoring. 

These diagnoses can also limit your options of how you labor and deliver your baby, depending on your medical professional’s insight and/or protocols.

Increased Caffeine Intake

Too much of a good thing can be…bad. The caffeine found in chocolate can cause complications if you don’t limit your use. Dark chocolate does contain more caffeine than milk chocolate and on average has 12 mg of caffeine per ounce. 

Caffeinated beverages like coffee, tea, sodas, and energy drinks can contain an average of 80mg of caffeine (or more!) per 8-ounce serving. 

One study^[14] linked increased caffeine consumption of more than two beverages a day has also been linked to miscarriage. Limiting your use can help minimize your risk of complications. 

So how much caffeine is okay to consume while pregnant? Moderate caffeine consumption is considered to be a caffeine intake of 200 milligrams or less^[15] per day. Make sure to add the amounts of caffeine from drinks plus your chocolate to help avoid going over the recommended amount. 

Checking the labels of your chocolate bar and drinks can help you watch your caffeine limits. Some labels don’t contain the amount of caffeine in their product, so it’s good to know that on average an ounce of dark chocolate can contain 12 mg of caffeine per ounce, which is a little more caffeine^[16] than milk chocolate which has 3.5 to 6 mg per ounce. 

Unhealthy Additives 

Cocoa solids contain vitamins, minerals, and fiber. When more ingredients start to be added to the chocolate product it begins to lose its benefits and can raise the risk of complications. 

To make milk chocolate and white chocolate, the pureness of the cacao plant is diluted down by cocoa butter, cocoa liquor, sugar, and more. The consumption of the additives^[5] does not show the same kind of benefits in comparison to dark chocolate without them and can increase the risks of inflammation from the added sugar alone. 

Some other sources besides milk chocolate that lack quality nutritional value compared to dark chocolate include

• Chocolate ice cream
• Commercial chocolate drinks
• Chocolate cake
• White chocolate
• Hot chocolate

The Bottom Line

Yes, it is safe to eat chocolate during a healthy pregnancy, especially dark chocolate, as long as you limit it to moderate chocolate consumption of 1-2 ounces a day. 

You can find dark chocolate bars in stores and online. There are also high-flavanol chocolate supplement powders and capsules available to buy now as the evidence of chocolate’s powerful health benefits spreads. 

In addition to eating a balanced diet, you can help support your pregnant body and baby’s growth with prenatal vitamins made specifically for expectant mothers. 

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