4D ultrasound shows facial expressions of babies reacting to taste and smell in the womb

The "laughter-face" pattern was more prevalent in fetuses exposed to carrot flavor, whereas the "cry-face" pattern was more prevalent in fetuses subjected to kale flavor.
4D ultrasound shows facial expressions of babies reacting to taste and smell in the womb
According to a new study, human fetuses can taste flavors from their mother's diet and may not enjoy everything they eat. Researchers used Four-dimensional (4D) ultrasound technology to capture the facial expressions of fetuses between 32 and 36 weeks when they were subjected to either carrot or kale flavors.
The study is published in the journal Psychological Science. In this study, researchers first assessed frame-by-frame facial movements in response to maternal nutrition. The "laughter-face" pattern was more prevalent in fetuses exposed to carrot flavor, whereas the "cry-face" pattern was more prevalent in fetuses subjected to kale flavor.

What were food options offered to the expectant mothers?

A developing baby's first sense to develop is touch. By eight weeks, the cheeks and lips of the developing fetus typically respond to touch, followed by other body parts by 14 weeks. Hearing and taste come next. Garlic, vanilla, mint, and carrot are a few flavors that are proven to enter the amniotic fluid newborns live in and eat; in the testing of this, one cohort of expectant mothers consumed daily servings of carrot juice, whereas the other group avoided the same. Researchers fed the infants water-flavored cereal or cereal with carrot juice flavoring after they started eating solid food. Babies with amniotic fluid-containing carrots ate a more significant portion of cereal with a carrot flavor.

What data was displayed by the 4D ultrasound scanning technology?

With cutting-edge 4D ultrasound scanning equipment, the study looked at 100 healthy pregnancies in women between 18 and 40 years. About one-third of the women got divided into three groups:
    A control group did not get either flavor.
  • An experimental group received organic kale capsules.
  • A group received carrot capsules.
  • Participants abstained from eating or drinking anything, having carrots or kale, during the day of their scans to reduce the impact of confounding factors. After taking the capsules, subjects underwent 4D ultrasound scans after waiting 20 minutes.
    According to the findings, fetuses exposed to the carrot flavor more frequently displayed "lip-corner puller" and "laughter-face gestalt" movements, while fetuses exposed to the kale flavor more frequently showed "upper-lip raiser," "lower-lip depressor," "lip stretch," "lip presser," and "cry-face gestalt" movements.
    More research is required to determine how flavor exposure during pregnancy can affect food choices throughout a person's lifetime. Additionally, since the sample of expectant mothers included in the study were only from England, experts need to look into the effects of cuisines and food habits from other cultures.
    This article is written by Ananya Jena
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