To some parents, it surely comes as no surprise: Babies in the womb can express delight and displeasure on their faces, in correlation to the flavors their moms consume, a UK study found.
Using coded 4-D ultrasound scans, researchers identified complex facial movements in babies who were subjected to carrot (a sweet vegetable) and kale (a bitter vegetable) and confirmed their hypothesis to be correct: fetuses subjected to carrots showed more smiles; those subjected to kale showed more cry faces. Fetal facial movements were measured frame by frame, revealing reactions to maternal ingestion.
Researchers from the Department of Psychology at Durham University, alongside scientists from Université de Bourgogne and Aston University, tested pregnant women and their fetuses at 32 to 36 weeks’ gestation from northeast England. They were given single-dose capsules of either carrot, kale, or no flavor….