Nutrition in pregnancy: why do so many women disregard healthy eating while pregnant?

IMHO, it is SO important to eat correctly during this time. However, it seems as though during pregnancy some women eat worse than ever and use the pregnancy as an excuse. I understand that cravings have a play in this, but many doctors will agree that craving an item such as mac'n'cheese is your body's way of saying it needs a certain nutrient found in mac'n'cheese, such as calcium.

there is no need to be snippy.... i'm just asking: why? i think it's unfair to the unborn child. why doen't the kid deserve a better chance at health than something that came out of a fast food window?

we have been taught that nutrition in general really doesn't matter. doctors don't get proper nutrition education during their training and many of them don't fully realize it's importance. it's ridiculous that they specialize in obstetrics which is the abnormality of pregnancy and there are so many conditions that could be prevented or atleast lessened if more women had good nutrition.

dr. brewer was a brilliant doctor who came up with the brewer pregnancy diet and his patients had VERY low rates of pre-eclampsia and toxcemia which he found can be controlled by diet!
i have been following the brewer pregnancy diet and have gained the perfect amount of weight and have been feeling WONDERFULLY! i try to tell every pregnant woman i can just how important their diet is. education is key!

Why do so many people eat badly in the first place? It doesn't take a hard look to see that Americans in general eat badly- not enough fresh fruits and vegetables and too much fast and convenience foods. So for some that simply doesn't change while pg. Is it the right choice? No absolutely not, but you can't change other people. You can only worry about yourself.

I think a big part of it for some women is what they can keep down. I have a friend who couldn't keep hardly anything down and really the only things she could keep down were the junk food items. Her case was pretty intense though. She is due next month and still is quite underweight for where she is at in the pregnancy. Hopefully the baby is ok..

Why does it matter to you? To each their own, if a woman wants to eat unhealthy then that is up to her. Worry about your own body and baby and leave it at that.

you can also ask why so many don't stop smoking or taking drugs, why many still use over the counter drugs they are not suppose to. Its their body, their baby and their choice - not a good choice but still theirs.

I have had two babies and only the last month of my pregnancy with my first did I eat bad (more fast food than nice home cooked meals as before.) My reason flat out I was tired, I was working full time dealing with alot of stress and just didn't have the energy to cook.
With my second I was a stay at home Mama and had plenty of time to rest and cook very healthy meals nor did I crave any fast food or junk.

Quite frankly, it is for me, partly cravings, but also being too tired to want to sit down and make an organic soy burger with a side of sprouts, and a shot of wheatgrass juice on the side...
I try to be moderate but still eat WAAAYYYY too much fast food. Even when I get fast food, I try to avoid the stuff that is just BLATANTLY unhealthy, except for every once in a while.

I think it has to be a balance of not completely depriving yourself, but also not gorging on only garbage. I like to eat fresh fruits, drink odwalla smoothies, eat tons of baby carrots, take my prenatal and drink tons of water...

Don't be so quick to sound so self righteous. I dunno, there is a way to ask any question without sounding arrogant, I think that this question just seems judgemental.