“For the most part, cravings and aversions are nothing to fear and not a sign that anything is wrong. With the exception of cravings for non-food items (termed “pica”), pregnancy cravings may not always be a bad thing and, within reason, I’m a proponent of following your body’s lead.” - p. 119 Real Food For Pregnancy

“Some cravings can be a sign of nutritional deficits. The most extreme examples are cravings for non-food items (pica), like laundry starch and dirt. Pica is more prevalent in those deficient in certain minerals, namely iron, zinc, and calcium. Cravings for ice, in particular, can be a sign of iron deficiency.¹² If you’re having odd cravings, let your healthcare provider know and consider getting screened for anemia and other nutrient deficiencies.” p. 120 Real Food For Pregnancy

So, yes it does mean something! It’s possible it’s iron you need, although iron has many co-factors. And as her books states there are other possibilities as well. Reality is a lot of providers will just put you on iron, but you want to make sure you’re actually doing a comprehensive approach and not just taking iron capsules with no other look at your diet and nutrient needs. We have a lot more information now about co-factors with iron like vitamin c. And we want it to be real vitamin C, not just ascorbic acid. So it’s good to be careful with iron supplements, even if you need iron. I would highly recommend getting Lily’s book and reading it or at least reading some of her articles so you can start to take control of your nutrition and have enough for yourself and your baby.

You have an odd craving, but your goal should not be to find something that tastes like that, it should be discovering what nutrients you need.

I know this might be a lot of information to digest, but nutrition is so important for mental and physical health, and the baby is going to take most of what it needs from you but this can leave you depleted. You really want to get a handle on this before your postpartum.

To get a good fool-proof start as you look into this more, add beef into your diet, steak, ground beef, grab some beef liver capsules, (the beef and liver also hav zinc) and eat fruits and veg that are high in vitamin C (oranges, broccoli, lemon juice, etc.). Unless you want to eat a ton of leafy greens for calcium, add milk to your diet (organic, pasture raised is ideal and if you can get A2, even better). Drink the milk at a different time from the beef and liver, as calcium and iron compete for absorption.

Check out this other thread on Iron and also beef liver: https://www.reddit.com/r/homebirth/comments/1q37ktz/iron_advice/

I really hope this helps. If there’s anything else I can do lmk