Taste & Smell Development
Taste buds and smell receptors develop early, allowing baby to taste amniotic fluid.
Development Timeline
Weeks 8-40
Overview
Your baby's sense of taste and smell develop surprisingly early and are quite sophisticated by birth. Taste buds appear around week 8, and by second trimester, baby is actively tasting amniotic fluid.
Everything you eat affects the flavor of amniotic fluid, exposing baby to different tastes. Studies show babies prefer flavors they experienced in the womb, potentially influencing future food preferences.
Smell develops alongside taste, with receptors forming in the first trimester. After birth, baby can recognize you by smell, helping with bonding and breastfeeding. The senses of taste and smell are closely connected.
🗓️ Week-by-Week Milestones
Tap any week to open its full pregnancy guide — baby size, symptoms, and what else is developing that week.
👀 What to Expect
- •Baby actively swallowing and tasting amniotic fluid
- •May react to strong flavors you eat
- •Movements may change after you eat certain foods
- •Newborns prefer flavors experienced in womb
- •Baby recognizes breast milk flavor from amniotic fluid
💡 Tips for Parents
- ✓Your diet flavors the amniotic fluid baby tastes
- ✓Varied diet may make baby more open to foods later
- ✓Sweet amniotic fluid makes baby swallow more
- ✓Bitter or sour may make baby grimace
- ✓Baby learns to recognize you by smell after birth
- ✓These senses are quite developed at birth
🛍️ Supplements & Reads for This Development Stage
Comfort and preparation products other expecting parents find helpful at this stage. These are convenience picks, not medical advice — always follow your provider's guidance.
Prenatal Vitamins (with Folate & DHA)
Daily folate, iron and DHA support that doctors recommend before and throughout pregnancy.
Check Price on Amazon →DHA Omega-3 Supplement (Prenatal)
Doctors recommend DHA throughout pregnancy for baby's brain and eye development — especially the third trimester.
Check Price on Amazon →What to Expect When You're Expecting
The classic week-by-week guide trusted by millions of expecting parents.
Check Price on Amazon →Amazon Associates Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. These recommendations are editorially chosen comfort and preparation products and are not medical advice.
✨ Amazing Facts
Babies have more taste buds than adults
What you eat influences baby's future taste preferences
Babies prefer sweet flavors from birth
Your scent calms newborn baby
Taste and smell are baby's most developed senses at birth
Related Development Topics
👶 Planning Ahead?
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