Interesting

A

autumn

Cathlete
I just opened my P.A.T. (Parents as Teachers) newsletter and found and interesting article. It states that unborn babies can detect differences in taste as early as 13 weeks. The foods mom eats changes the taste of the amniotic fluid. So, consumption of veggies is encouraged. Dr. Birch, the researcher, "notes that babies' gulp rate of amniotic fluid increases when seetness is present". Cool huh? It just fascinates me. Now, if only your tummy ill cooperate with you. In my first tri, the nauseous thought of veggies kept me away. ;)

Autumn
 
Autumn,

I share an office with a PAT educator and she gave me this handout a few weeks ago. I thought it was really interesting too. Does this explain why my 3 yr old loves broccolli and green peppers? I am sure it does has something to do with his chocolate addiction!!!

Tina
 
Tina,

It could explain it. :) My DD loves veggies... she never had to taste them 15 to 25 times. LOL! :) She also loves brocolli, spinach, salad. Oh and blackberry anything. I had an addiction to Cracker Barrell's blackberry pancakes when I was pregnant with her. It is a good thing. My son, who will be a year next week, also loves veggies. I think there is something to it.

Yep, could be the reason for the chocolate addiction. My mom ate 1/2 chocolate cake each day during the last month of her pregnancy with me... needless to say I LOVE chocolate! I bet the babies really up the gulp rate for chocolate! :)

Autumn
 
Very interesting article, Autumn! However, it's one thing to say that the baby can detect changes in flavour while in utero, and another to imply that this influences his/her taste buds in the long term. Were the researchers able to make this link in their research? It would be great to think that we could help our children eat healthy for their entire lives, merely by eating healthy ourselves for the second and third trimesters of pregnancy!

Thanks for sharing!
Sandra
 
I have read other articles stating this but have never read the research itself. I suppose the "taste" experience may be similar to breast milk taste. I wonder who tasted breast milk to test this. :)

Ummmm, how can I put this delicately... food certainly influences the smell of our body fluids and such... so it would seem reasonable the taste would change... definitely not going to test this assumption. :) I guess babies and kids learn to like food with exposure. My poor DH ONLY ate green beans and corn when we met 19 years ago, well, he learned to like a varietly of veggies eating at my parents' table.

This was just a newsletter, so no real details. I wish I knew more about it.
 
I believe that the babies will gulp more fluid when sweetness is present, but am skeptical that eating more veggies while pregnant will cause a child to be more likely to eat veggies. I thought preferring sweet foods is an instinct.

Just from my own experience - I have fraternal twins. Obviously, they were exposed to the same food that I ate in utero and I fed them the same foods as infants/toddlers. They're almost 11 now and one loves fruits/veggies and one is extremely picky and won't eat a variety of produce. I couldn't stomach vegetables in any of my pregnancies, but two of my kids are great vegetable eaters.

My oldest son doesn't like chocolate and I ate a TON of chocolate while I was pregnant with him (I'd be embarrassed to say how much!:9 ).

Erica
 
I was going to add that taste is genetic. Remember the science class taste test? I usually post information that is reliable and can be backed up with credible sources. I should not have posted this without more information, sorry ladies. I thought it was just a fun bit of info.

Take care!
 
Autumn - please don't apologize! I always enjoy your posts and respect your opinion. This was something interesting to think about. You stated that the info was in a newsletter and not as fact.

Erica
 
Ack, Autumn, don't apologize!! I didn't mean to sound critical of *you*. Like Erica said, I love your posts. It is a very interesting article. I was just trying to clarify whether the link between in-utero tastes and long-term tastes was something the researchers had proven, or were only speculating about. If the newsletter didn't specify that, then that's okay.

Erica, I'd say your experience with your fraternal twins is great evidence that tastes are not necessarily set from first exposure. You gave birth to your own science experiment! Neat! :)

Now that I know that I can provide Baby with a "treat", I think I'll eat a big bowl of chocolate ice cream today. Baby has behaved so well lately, I think she deserves it :D

Sandra
 
I'll be more careful

You ladies are very kind, but I should not have posted the information. The relevance or significance of such information is influenced by an individual's knowledge base. I read this with the information about the role genetics play and may play in tasting. (I was so disappointed that I didn't taste the PTC when I chewed on the taste strip). Anyway, this could certainly be the explanation of the difference in twins. Erica, I believe you are correct that the preference for sweetness is instinct, but the reseacher supported the idea that unborn babies actually detect taste differences (with the observation that gulp rate increases when sweetness is present supports this idea).

I will be more cautious.

Thanks again for your kind words.

Autumn
 
RE: I'll be more careful

I think it's fascinating information that unborn babies actually have taste preferences in utero. I had no idea. I always thought the amniotic fluid tasted exactly like water, with no changes influenced by anything the mother ingested. That's neat.

Not to stir the pot any further, but I wonder if this is why babies become more active in the uterus after Mom has had a sugary drink? Are they moving around like little goldfish, gulping in as much of the good stuff they can get? :D

Sandra
 
RE: I'll be more careful

Autumn there is no need to apologize at all. I found the information intersting.

Sandra: my little guy moves around a lot usually after I eat anything (well most stuff anyway)
 
Autumn!

Okay, this is all fun info and you've really piqued my interest. Isn't amniotic fluid basically what the baby pees out or am I wrong? Please explain, I actually have no real knowledge on the subject. If amniotic fluid is "in utero urine," then is the baby tasting the flavor after it has already gone through their body?

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Due 7-10-05
 
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