Unborn babies react differently to different smells and tastes. Scientists discovered this by looking at the facial expressions of fetuses. And guess what? They love carrots, but not turnips.
British researchers moved 4D ultrasounds of the stomachs of 100 pregnant women. The women were given tablets filled with turnip or carrot powder. The scientists then looked at how the fetuses reacted to the flavors twenty minutes later.
According to the researchers, the unborn children who were given carrots had a smiling face. The others, who tasted the turnip, saw a sad face. During the study, the women were between the ages of eighteen and forty and between 32 and 36 weeks of gestation.
Unborn babies experience taste differently than we do. Humans taste through a combination of taste and smell. Experts believe that fetuses experience their sense of taste by swallowing or inhaling amniotic fluid while still in the womb.
The researchers believe their study can contribute to knowledge of taste. What a pregnant woman eats can affect her baby’s taste preferences. And maybe in this way they can actually learn healthy eating habits.
New research should show how fetuses respond to different tastes. The scientists also wanted to know if they reacted less negatively if they were exposed to kale more often, for example.
They also want to check whether unborn babies retain their favorite tastes once they are born.
