A study has been published showing that if a fetus is exposed to specific food odors in the womb before birth, it positively reacts to those odors after birth.
Researchers from Durham University in the United Kingdom, along with teams from Aston University and the National Center for Scientific Research-Burgundy, announced the results of this study on the 13th. The findings were published in the international journal "Appetite."
The research team conducted experiments involving 32 newborns. They had pregnant women take 400 mg of carrot or kale capsules during the last three weeks of pregnancy and then observed the newborns' reactions when they were three weeks old. The researchers exposed the newborns to the odors of carrot, kale, and a control group (water) and recorded their reactions on video. In this process, the newborns only smelled the odors and did not taste them.
Analysis showed that newborns born to mothers who consumed carrot capsules exhibited positive reactions, such as smiling, to the carrot odor. In contrast, newborns from mothers who took kale capsules showed a more familiar response to the kale odor. The researchers confirmed a tendency for positive responses (smiling expressions) to specific food odors to increase from the fetal stage to after birth, while negative responses (grimacing expressions) decreased.
Nadja Reislend, co-lead researcher and professor at the Fetal and Neonatal Research Lab at Durham University, noted, "It has been confirmed that babies respond more favorably to food odors consumed by mothers in late pregnancy" and explained, "If certain foods are consumed during pregnancy, the child is likely to accept those foods more positively after birth."
This study was conducted as a follow-up to research conducted in 2022. The previous study analyzed fetal expressions using 4D ultrasound at 32 weeks and 36 weeks of pregnancy, whereas this study involved newborns.
Beija Ustun-Elayan, co-lead researcher and part of the team at Durham University, said, "The fetus can not only detect various scents but also learns and remembers them when exposed to specific scents repeatedly. This suggests that food preferences can be formed much earlier than expected, and it may contribute to establishing healthy eating habits for children."
However, the researchers emphasized that this study is a preliminary study and that additional research is needed to confirm long-term effects. They also mentioned that it is difficult to exclude the impact of infants' eating habits after birth and that the limited study sample of White British subjects must be considered, along with cultural and dietary differences.
References
Psychological Science(2022), DOI : https://doi.org/10.1177/09567976221105460
Appetite(2025), DOI : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2025.107891