Babies develop their sense of taste even before they eat…

[18 January 2010 - 12h00]

Babies develop their sense of taste even before they eat

Babies develop their sense of taste while they are still in the womb. By the twelfth week of pregnancy, taste buds are visible on a baby’s tongue and babies use this new ability by taking in amniotic fluid through the mouth and expelling it… through the nose.

Amniotic fluid is a true chemical chameleon and is refreshed every three hours, taking on the taste of the food eaten by the mother. Since amniotic fluid does not provide the baby with any nourishment (that is a role performed by the placenta), we can only assume that babies take it into their mouth for pleasure. So what you eat can provide a source of enjoyment for your baby!

The tastes which recur frequently in amniotic fluid become registered in the baby’s memory. And after the birth a baby will show a preference for these flavours. So educating the palate begins at a very early age! Also, although unweaned infants have never been given food, they still know how to distinguish between sweet, sour and bitter. And it’s sugar they prefer, for a fundamental reason – in nature, bitter and sour are often poisonous. So, from birth, an instinct for self-preservation attracts us to sweetness, which is not felt to present any danger.

Once a baby is born, the education of the taste buds continues through breastfeeding – unlike manufactured baby milk, the taste of breast milk changes according to what the mother eats. So breastfeeding mothers should not change their dietary habits after giving birth. A sudden change is likely to disconcert your baby, who may refuse to breastfeed. For example, if you haven’t eaten cabbage during your pregnancy, don’t suddenly start eating it a few days after giving birth! Our sense of taste begins to form very early in life and continues to develop up to the age of three. But it is, of course, a fascinating learning process that continues throughout our life.

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