ABSTRACT

Background: Food cravings are among the most frequently reported experiences of pregnancy, yet their cause and clinical meaning remain uncertain. Classical Ayurveda addresses this phenomenon through the concept of Dauhrida (the "two-hearted" state), which attributes the pregnant woman's desires to the foetus's emerging consciousness and prescribes their judicious fulfillment. Objectives: To critically examine the concept of Dauhrida as described in the Ayurvedic classics and to compare it with contemporary scientific evidence on the prevalence, timing, determinants and consequences of food cravings in pregnancy. Methods: We conducted a critical narrative review. We studied relevant chapters of Charaka Samhita, Sushruta Samhita, and Ashtanga Hridaya, along with their principal commentaries, for descriptions of Dauhrida. We identified contemporary literature through PubMed, Google Scholar, and publisher databases using combinations of the terms "food craving", "pregnancy", "aversion", "pica", "Dauhrida", and "Garbhini Paricharya". Findings were organised thematically and compared. Results: The classics place the onset of Dauhrida in the fourth month of gestation, when the foetal heart and sense faculties become manifest. They direct that the woman's wishes be granted, with harmful items modified by wholesome ones, and they link unmet desires to vitiation of Vata and to foetal loss or malformation. Modern studies report cravings in roughly 50–90% of pregnant women, with onset around the end of the first trimester and a peak in the second. Explanations under study include hormonal, nutritional, pharmacological, cultural and neurobiological mechanisms; the latter include pregnancy-related changes in mesolimbic dopamine circuits. Evidence also links unmet cravings with maternal undernutrition and maternal diet with offspring taste preferences. Conclusion: The timing and management principles of Dauhrida align well with current observations, while its foetal-origin explanation and predictions about offspring character await scientific testing. Region-specific prospective studies are recommended. Keywords: Dauhrida; Dauhridini; food cravings; pregnancy; Garbhini Paricharya; antenatal care; Ayurveda