Changes in gustatory function during the course of pregnancy and postpartum

Area of Science:

• Physiology
• Neuroscience
• Human Biology

Background:

• Gustatory function is crucial for nutrient intake and overall health.
• Pregnancy involves significant physiological and hormonal changes that could impact sensory perception.
• Understanding taste changes during pregnancy is important for maternal and fetal well-being.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate alterations in gustatory function during pregnancy and the postpartum period.
• To compare taste perception in pregnant women with non-pregnant controls.

Main Methods:

• Prospective study conducted at an obstetric outpatient clinic.
• Gustatory function assessed using 'taste tablets' for basic taste concentrations and subjective ratings of taste intensity and pleasantness.
• Evaluations performed during early pregnancy, postpartum, and in parallel for control groups.

Main Results:

• Pregnant subjects demonstrated reduced gustatory function compared to controls, persisting postpartum.
• Objective taste sensitivity changes were noted, despite similar subjective intensity ratings between groups.
• Pregnant women showed altered pleasantness ratings for salty stimuli across trimesters and postpartum.

Conclusions:

• Pregnancy is associated with significant changes in gustatory function, including decreased sensitivity.
• Reduced gustatory sensitivity may aid pregnant and breastfeeding women in dietary adjustments for adequate electrolyte consumption.
• Discrepancies between objective and subjective taste findings suggest central processing alterations during pregnancy.