Of all the senses, taste is the most important in newborns. Inside the mother's womb, the baby hears muffled sounds coming from outside, go a short distance, touch and smell have not evolved so much, but the sense of taste in the baby It is the one that develops most in the prenatal period.
In a sense of taste it is formed and matures soon due to the sensory experiences that the baby has lived during pregnancy. In the belly he has tasted different flavors received through the amniotic fluid.
Taste buds
Taste buds are taste receptor cells found in the tongue. Depending on their location, they better detect certain types of flavors depending on whether they are sweet, bitter, sour, etc.
They appear in the eighth week of gestation and when the baby begins to swallow amniotic fluid, around week 12, taste receptors begin to be stimulated.
It is said that the sensitivity of a person to a certain flavor depends on the number of taste buds he has. There are people who have about 500 papillae in total and there are others that can have up to 10,000. The latter are those that are considered supercatadoras.
Trying new flavors in the womb
The amniotic fluid changes its composition throughout pregnancy. Until about week 17 it is produced by the mother and is composed of proteins, carbohydrates, lipids and phospholipids, urea and electrolytes. Towards the end of pregnancy most of the amniotic fluid is made up of fetal urine.
For its part, the flavors of the maternal diet reach the amniotic fluid, so the baby has different taste experiences. In fact, they have a preference for certain foods even before birth.
In the third trimester of pregnancy it can already be seen how the baby reacts with facial expressions to bitter flavors and shows pleasure in sweets.
That preference for sweet flavors, which is maintained during childhood, would have an evolutionary explanation, such as a "taste of security."
At birth, they continue to train the taste
Although in fetal life he has had numerous experiences with flavors, at birth the baby continues to experience new flavors through breast milk.
As in the womb, breast milk also influences newborn preferences. The variety of flavors that it receives through breast milk, influenced by the mother's diet, makes them more likely to accept new flavors when they start eating food.
There are studies that relate the foods that the mother has frequently eaten during pregnancy and breastfeeding with a greater preference on the part of the child when he can choose what to eat.
From six months
When the child begins to try new foods at six months, a whole range of possibilities opens up. That is why it is recommended to offer a variety of textures and flavors so that the little one can experience for himself. If possible, cut the food into small pieces so you can take them with your own hands and taste them.
When introducing new foods in the child's diet it is recommended to always do it with an already accepted flavor. It is what is known as "Taste-taste learning". New foods are more likely to be accepted if combined with known flavors than if tasted alone.
Neophobia, or fear of trying new foods, is a fairly common disorder in children, especially between 18 and 24 months, but overcome with the passage of time, always without forcing them and with much patience.
