Eating Licorice In Pregnancy May Affect A Child's IQ And Behavior

[steven johnson]

Licorice is one of my favorite candies. I'm lucky it wasn't one of my mother's cravings during pregnancy.

Expectant mothers who eat excessive quantities of licorice during pregnancy could adversely affect their child's intelligence and behavior, a study has shown.

A study of eight year old children whose mothers ate large amounts of licorice when pregnant found they did not perform as well as other youngsters in cognitive tests.

They were also more likely to have poor attention spans and show disruptive behavior such as ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).

It is thought that a component in licorice called glycyrrhizin may impair the placenta, allowing stress hormones to cross from the mother to the baby.

Eating Licorice In Pregnancy May Affect A Child's IQ And Behavior

[bbinacan]

1. Red or Black?

[pnwmom]

3. "Real" licorice is black; I'm sure that's what they meant. n/t

[virgogal]

2. No licorice for me---I just smoked and had the occasional drink.:-) Mad Men era.

Now we have guilt for women who DARED to eat licorice.

[corpseratemedia]

4. stay away from Grandma's when pregnant!

Or the candy dish on the doily will getcha :scared:

[Why Syzygy]

5. Kit Kats showed no negative effects. nt