New research suggests that children tend to like vegetables more when their mothers eat them later in pregnancy.
A new study published in the journal Developmental Psychobiology suggests that children’s food preferences may begin to form before birth. Researchers have found that exposure to certain vegetables during pregnancy can make children more receptive to those foods years later.
The study, led by researchers at Durham University and Aston University in the UK, found that three-year-olds reacted more positively to the smell of vegetables that their mothers consumed at the end of pregnancy. The findings reinforce growing evidence that fetuses can detect and remember flavors experienced in the womb.
The researchers focused on two vegetables with very different flavor profiles: carrot and cabbage. During the third trimester of pregnancy, mothers participating in the study consumed capsules with concentrated carrot or cabbage powder. Using ultrasounds performed at 32 and 36 weeks of gestation, researchers had already observed fetal facial reactions to flavorssuggesting that babies in the womb were already responding to tastes and smells transmitted by amniotic fluid.
The most recent phase of the study examined whether these prenatal experiences had a lasting effect. At the age of three, 12 children who participated in the original research were exposed to the smell of carrots and cabbage using cotton buds. The researchers recorded their facial reactionsclassifying them as positive or negative.
The results showed that children had fewer negative reactions the plant they were exposed to before birth. Although kale has generally elicited more unfavorable responses due to its naturally bitter taste, prenatal exposure is associated with a significant reduction in these reactions, explains the .
To principal investigator, Nadja Reisslanda psychologist at Durham University, said the findings suggest that taste memories formed during pregnancy can persist into childhood.
“What we have observed over time is that children continue to have a greater preference for the vegetables they were exposed to while in the womb,” Reissland said. “Exposure to a specific flavor late in pregnancy may result in a lasting gustatory or olfactory memory in children.”
The researchers caution that the study was small and limited in scope. Only 12 children took part in the follow-up experiment, and scientists did not monitor participants’ diets between birth and three years of age, meaning later exposure to certain foods may have also influenced the results.
Still, researchers believe the findings could have important public health implications, particularly for helping children develop healthier eating habits from an early age.
