So there you are, newly pregnant, and really hungry. You are so excited for Thanksgiving dinner! You go to the store to buy everything you need, and the poultry counter sends you running for the bathroom. You can’t even stand the sight of chicken or turkey all the sudden, let alone eat it.

You are not alone in this poultry-hating world. In fact, you may be experiencing all sorts of food aversions right now. Don’t worry; your taste buds haven’t gone crazy. In fact, they are providing your growing baby with a potentially lifesaving service. Food aversions, as well as morning sickness, are the body’s way of keeping you from ingesting food borne illnesses and chemicals that could cause fetal organ deformities and even death.

Eating a piece of chicken that contains salmonella isn’t fun…it will make a healthy person sick for days. However, salmonella can literally kill a fetus. No wonder you don’t want to eat Thanksgiving turkey! Thanks body! You may have aversions to many meat products, some fruits and vegetables, and even certain beverages that contain chemicals that can cause developmental abnormalities.

Two evolutionary biologists from Cornell University, Samuel Flaxman and Paul Sherman, studied this phenomenon in depth. Their evidence gave explanation to what pregnant women experience, especially during the early stages of pregnancy, when the fetus is at is most vulnerable. Food aversions and morning sickness provide protection for the mother also. During the early stages of pregnancy, the mother’s immune system is naturally suppressed to keep from rejecting the newly forming baby, which the body could see as an invader. So, the mother is more susceptible to illness at this time as well.

So, embrace your morning sickness. as disgusting as you may feel, it is serving you and your baby well.