It is common for some women to feel that their sense of smell and taste has changed during pregnancy. Indeed, due to the effect of hormonal changes, guilty of most of the discomforts of pregnancy, these two senses are also modified, especially in the first quarter.
In this case I can speak from my own experience, because during my first months of pregnancy I feel like becoming a kind of hound dog. Many women are sharply sharpened by smell.
Smells and flavors that previously pleased can be disgusting, including the favorite food dish or your favorite perfume. A true aversion to the odors or flavors of certain foods can be developed, especially fish, meat or coffee, as well as tobacco.
This phenomenon is called hyperosmia, an exaggerated increase in sensitivity to odors that manifests during pregnancy or the climacteric. In the case of pregnant women it is a physiological alteration caused by the increase in estrogen that causes the woman to have a more prominent smell and an extreme sensitivity to odors.
It is the disorder suffered by the protagonist of the film "Perfume", who could perceive odors with a much greater intensity than that of any person with normal smell.
For perfumers or sumelliers it can be an advantage but I assure you that during pregnancy it becomes a truly unpleasant nuisance. In some women, hyperosmia disappears after the first trimester, or at least decreases, however others may accompany them until the end of pregnancy but gradually disappears after delivery.
It is not unreasonable to think that this exacerbation of the sense of smell can manifest itself so that the recent mother can recognize the smell of her own baby at birth.
Remember that smell and taste are closely related. Both work together. The taste buds of the tongue identify the taste and the nerve of the smell recognizes odors, so the extreme sensitivity to odors can cause the pregnant woman to vomit more frequently when she feels any smell that is unpleasant.
Nausea and vomiting are closely linked to the olfactory and gustatory changes experienced during pregnancy, especially during the first months when physiological changes are most pronounced.
Just as some women feel hypersensitivity to smells, others feel they have lost their sense of taste and smell. Physiological anosmia, this is how the loss of sense of smell is defined, is less frequent but may be due to the congestion of nasal mucous membranes during the first months of pregnancy causing a sense of loss of sense of smell and not feeling Taste to meals.
Taste is also capriciously disturbed by the action of hormones. Pregnant women have a higher taste threshold than women who are not pregnant. The change in taste and preference for certain foods may even be one of the first signs of pregnancy.
It is explained as a kind of metallic taste in the mouth that varies the taste of food and sometimes causes foods that we loved to happen to seem disgusting. It is common to begin to feel rejection for certain foods and drinks such as coffee, alcohol, fish and fried foods.
One of those responsible for the change we experience in tastes is the hydrochloric acid that is secreted in the stomach to digest food. In pregnancy it decreases and to compensate for this deficit the body asks for acidic foods such as lemon, green apples or pickled onions, to name a few of my favorites.
Due to the drops in sugar that occur in the body during pregnancy, it is also desirable to eat sweet foods or feel uncontrollable desire to eat certain foods. I speak of the famous cravings, which have a lot to do with the alterations of taste and smell that are experienced during pregnancy.
It is curious, as some pregnant women even dream of chocolate cakes, when they are usually not "sweet". In these cases it is good to satisfy the cravings but always in moderation, without going over since these types of hypercaloric foods provide a low nutritional value and favor weight gain.
As you can see, even essential senses for everyday life as they are taste and smell are altered during pregnancy. It is one of the unmistakable symptoms of pregnancy. Again, we must blame the blame on the revolutionized hormones that affect almost without exception all organs and systems.
