Dumplings or Momos are often on a pregnant woman’s food she craves list along with her other favourite Chinese dishes. These small savoury balls of dough filled with either meat, fish, cheese or vegetables are blissfully delicious and okay for a mom-to-be to enjoy once in a while when the cravings arise.
However, beware of the high sodium content in Chinese foods. Consuming too much sodium during pregnancy can raise blood pressure and cause preeclampsia. Momos or dumplings can also be high in calories as often they are made by deep frying the dough balls. Another concern is that Chinese food is known to contain MSG, i.e. mono-sodium glutamate. While MSG occurs naturally in many foods like tomatoes and cheese, too much of it can cause obesity. Another side effect of MSG is that it causes nausea, sweating and heart palpitations in pregnancy.
If you are having Chinese food in a restaurant, request the staff to prepare your food with no MSG, little to no oil and with very ‘light’ soy sauce. Also opt for steamed dumplings with vegetables as they contain vitamins and other nutrients and less calories. If you have ordered dumplings with meat or fish, make sure it is served piping hot to avoid the risk of food borne illnesses.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10942912.2017.1295260
