Babies in the womb are big fans of carrots, but they don’t like green leafy vegetables—and they show it on their faces.
British and French scientists studied 4D ultrasounds of 100 pregnant women and found that babies reacted to the taste of carrots with a “smile on their face” and winced at the taste of cabbage.
How does the fetus perceive tastes and smells?
“Many studies suggest that babies can taste and smell in the womb, but they are based on postnatal data, while our study is the first to look at these responses before birth,” said study lead author Dr. Beiza Ustun.
Re-exposure to certain tastes before birth can help determine postpartum eating habits, which can be important when planning a healthy post-breastfeeding baby, the researcher says. According to the researchers, people experience taste sensations through a combination of taste and smell. It is believed that in the fetus this may occur through contact with the amniotic fluid of the uterus.
Can nutrition during pregnancy affect what your baby likes at birth?
In a study published in the journal psychological science The event was attended by researchers from the Durham Fetal and Neonatal Laboratory and from Aston University in Birmingham in central England. A group from the National Research Center in Burgundy, France was also involved.
The scientists believe the findings could deepen our understanding of the development of human taste and smell receptors, as well as perception and memory. Study co-author Professor Jackie Blissett of Aston University says it could be hypothesized that repeated prenatal exposure to certain tastes could lead to prenatal preferences for those tastes after birth.
In other words, exposing the fetus to less “favorite” flavors, such as cabbage, may mean that the baby will get used to those flavors. The next step, the scientists say, is to test whether the fetus will have fewer negative reactions to consistently served less-favorite tastes and how babies will react to them after birth.
Source: Wprost
