Unborn babies grimace when their mum eats kale, proving they can taste what she is eating.
Just like most kids, babies pull a “cry face” when exposed to the bitter vegetable’s flavour, research has shown.
But in ultrasound pictures, babies look like they are laughing when their mum eats a strong carrot flavour, scientists said.
Academics took 4D ultrasound scans of 100 pregnant women for the study.
Scans were done at 32 and 36 weeks to gauge the foetuses’ reactions.
The mums-to-be swallowed a 400mg capsule of either carrot or kale powder before each scan.
A control group ate no strong flavours.
Durham University postgraduate student Beyza Ustun, who led the research, said: “Our study is the first to see these reactions prior to birth.
“We think this repeated exposure to flavours before birth could help to establish food preferences post-birth.”
She added: “It was really amazing to see unborn babies’ reaction to kale or carrot flavours – and share those moments with their parents.”
Co-author Prof Jackie Blissett said the next step was to test whether babies exposed to certain flavours in the womb were more likely to accept them in foods after they were born.
