YOUR HEIGHTENED SENSES

Do your smelling and tasting abilities really change during pregnancy? Melany Bendix explains

THE ONLY FOOD that registered nurse Tracy-Ann Alexander could stomach during her first trimester of pregnancy? Burger King.

“It was my saving grace,” she says. “Everything smelled and tasted raw or odd in the first trimester – apart from Burger King.”

So what’s the cause for your sudden aversion to your favourite food, the lingering rancid or metallic taste in your mouth or the overnight development of a seemingly super-hero-like sense of smell?

“The widely accepted theory is that it’s probably due to the spike in a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), which is produced by what ultimately becomes the placenta,” Tracy-Ann explains. Once egg meets sperm, hCG amps up the production of oestrogen and progesterone, according to Dr Davinia Masimila, a specialist obstetrician gynaecologist at the national Department of Health.

This cocktail of hormones can be blamed for many of the most disturbing pregnancy symptoms: sudden mood swings, outlandish cravings, morning

sickness, frequent urination and the metallic “taste of coins” in your mouth. In fact, it’s this spike in hormones that often first alerts women they’re pregnant – hCG levels increase exponentially in the first days and weeks after conception. The hormone flows through your urine and blood, triggering a positive result on an athome pregnancy test or doctor’s exam. HCG’s main job “is telling a woman’s body that there’s a life form growing in her womb and that her body needs to build a nest for it”, according to Dr Michele Hakakha, obstetrician and author of the popular pregnancy guides What to Expect When You’re Expecting. Moreover, it signals to the ovaries that they can stop releasing an egg to be fertilised every month, since you’re already pregnant – while also suppressing your immune system to tolerate baby’s foreign DNA and support his or her growth in the womb.

NOTHING TASTES THE SAME

Nearly 93 percent of pregnant women experience some kind of change in taste (usually your perception of sour flavours), according to a study by the Nihon University School of Medicine in Japan. This change in taste is a phenomenon called dysgeusia, explains Dr Masimila. “Dysgeusia is linked to the increase in oestrogen – a hormone that plays a key role in the development of a foetus’ organs and bodily systems, and prepares a mom’s breasts to produce milk,” she says. “It’s also linked to an increase in progesterone – a hormone that relaxes all smooth muscle, such as the walls of the uterus and various blood vessels throughout the body, and triggers growth of breast tissue.”

Only at about 12 weeks do hCG levels become more stable (once the placenta is fully formed) and one’s olfactory senses largely return to normal. But we shouldn’t blame hormones for everything, Dr Masimila cautions. “Although dysgeusia is commonly experienced by pregnant women, it can also be a sign of another underlying health or medical problem. Pregnant women should seek medical advice if the metal taste persists or worsens, especially if one experiences a burning sensation in the mouth, despite simple remedies like oral hygiene or chewing on mints,” she adds.

WHAT’S THAT SMELL?

Research has shown that up to two-thirds of all expectant mothers rate their sense of smell in early pregnancy as “higher than normal” or “abnormally sensitive” – it’s a condition called hyperosmia. Pregnant women report being repulsed by the smell of meat, fish, eggs and other potentially harmful items (such as cigarettes, spoilt food, coffee or other fumes like petrol or cleaning products) – along with some social odours, such as body odour, baby odours, and perfume and colognes. Magdel Zietsman from Cape Town is pregnant and battling morning sickness. “I became very sensitive to the smell of meat being cooked – and I still can’t stand the smell of chicken, eggs or fragrant spices,” the 34-year-old says. What’s most strange, she adds, is that she’s only craving starchy and sweet foods such as doughnuts, salt and vinegar chips, or sourdough bread, and can’t stomach the thought of eating vegetables, despite being a vegetarian. Magdel says she received some great advice from another pregnant friend that she’s glad she’s taken into account: to stow away all her favourite perfumes, lotions and shampoos until after she delivers. Why?

“Because you associate that smell eventually with feeling nauseous. I’ve told my husband once he finishes with his current bottle of cologne, I never want him to buy it again!”