She said there was a tendency for weaning babies to be given sweeter foods, such as mashed carrot, pears or bananas, but babies exposed to more bitter greens might develop a taste for them if the mother ate them in pregnancy.
This study of 32 babies from the north-east of England followed up a 2022 research paper where 4D ultrasound scans showed foetuses smiling when their mothers ingested carrots and grimacing when exposed to kale.
Research co-lead author Dr Beyza Ustun-Elayan said: “Our research showed that foetuses can not only sense and distinguish different flavours in the womb but also start learning and establish memory for certain flavours if exposed to them repeatedly.
For the latest study, the babies were only given swabs of either carrot or kale to smell, but nothing was put in their mouths as they were too young to be exposed to tastes.
Professor Nadja Reissland, an expert in foetal and neonatal research whose study of the effect of smoking on unborn babies hit the headlines in 2015, was a lead author on the study.
