Only Pica urges I’ve ever had involved charcoal, which I did occasionally nibble at.

Not when I was pregnant, but later, during the time of an undiagnosed fibroid and the related anaemia.

Around the same time that charcoal (and the spent tips of phosphorescent matches) seemed so very delicious I was also drawn to the smell of rubber (think of the smell of a warm water “bottle” for a bed). I found that smell intoxicating.

I’d seen a different documentary years ago about pica urges around the world, including vendors at a market in West Africa selling pellets of different river clays who made a living from the phenomenon, so thankfully, understood why I was craving minerals this way.