There is often a longing for a particular kind of food or dish for which no noticeable desire had been displayed before.
Maternal Impressions .-- Another curious fact associated with pregnancy is the apparent influence of the emotions of the mother on the child in utero.

Every one knows of the popular explanation of many birth-marks, their supposed resemblance to some animal or object seen by the mother during pregnancy, etc.

The truth of maternal impressions, however, seems to be more firmly established by facts of a substantial nature.
There is a natural desire to explain any abnormality or anomaly of the child as due to some incident during the period of the mother's pregnancy, and the truth is often distorted and the imagination heavily drawn upon to furnish the satisfactory explanation.

It is the customary speech of the dime-museum lecturer to attribute the existence of some "freak" to an episode in the mother's pregnancy.

The poor "Elephant-man" firmly believed his peculiarity was due to the fact that his mother while carrying him in utero was knocked down at the circus by an elephant.