Changed tastes in pregnancy - do they come back?

[Wuffleflump]

I'm finding myself sensitive to bitter and tannic flavours in pregnancy. I've gone off tea, coffee, cabbage. But most distressingly to me, when I have a taste of other people's beer, the hop flavours seem completely dominant, in beers that I knew and enjoyed before pregnancy. I really love beer, and am involved in my local beer scene, and the idea that I won't enjoy it after pregnancy is upsetting.

Although I have experienced a lot of nausea, I don't find these flavours make me feel sick: only that they don't taste like they used to.

I'm generally finding my tastes have simplified, and that I'm cut off from pleasurable experiences. Are they likely to come back?

[Potteryprincess30]

Yes yes, they will definitely come back. It's just a pregnancy thing, sometimes just a trimester thing. But i'd say with the tea/coffee/beer it'll probably last until the babies out

[littleostrich]

In my last pregnancy, tea tasted horrible until about 18 weeks and then went back to normal. I'm hoping for the same this time as I miss a good cup of tea!

[BeyondThePage]

Not always, my taste changed and some of it was permanent - beer/tea/onions etc.
Some of it was temporary - meat/cabbage/broccoli, and some of that returns for a few days when my period is due (my sense of smell becomes super-acute too)

[DecemberCat]

Yeah, mine went totally back to normal as soon as my daughter was born.

[YerAuntFanny]

I'm another who thinks it doesn't automatically come back.

I used to love Heinz tomato soup, havent been able to eat it since I was about 12 weeks pregnant and can't even stomach the smell without feeling nauseous and DD is 5 in a few weeks!

[BeyondThePage]

I used to love Heinz tomato soup, havent been able to eat it since I was about 12 weeks

ME TOO! strange how it is the same sorts of things...

[HoldMeCloserTonyDanza]

I went off garlic in my first pregnancy and still hate it many years later. I can have it as an ingredient in eg pasta sauce if it isn’t too dominant but the mere smell of garlic bread turns my stomach.

I used to eat it all the time! I vividly remember waking up in the night after eating it and feeling so gross and thinking “I am never ever eating this again”.

[user1499786242]

I used to LOVE dark chocolate! The really bitter 85% stuff
Completely went off it when I was pregnant and still can't eat it now 2.5 years later!
Also went off crisps but I can safely say my love for them came back and they have actually been one of my cravings with this pregnancy!!

[TheVanguardSix]

Totally normal. I live on tea. Not during pregnancy. I totally go off it.
I remember with DC1 not being able to tolerate red meat of any kind.

Some of my changes have remained in place, years later. Others came back towards the end of pregnancy.

I haven't had smoked fish, or any smoked food of any kind, for 17 years! I used to love smoked salmon. My love for it has never been restored. I feel sick if someone hands me smoked anything.

[whinetasting]

Olives. I used to love olives until I was pregnant. Couldn't stomach them when pregnant and still can't eat them 12 years later.
I miss olives.

[Lemonicelolly1]

Hopefully your normal tastes will return, but my midwife did tell me they don't always. I stopped being able to eat beef pretty much from the moment I fell pregnant, and I've only just started to enjoy it again now DD is 12 weeks old. I didn't really have any cravings during pregnancy I just stopped enjoying lots of foods but thankfully I'm slowly getting back to normal

[skippykips]

They usually come back. However, my sister has not touched Gravy since.
It took me 3 years to be able to mention cous cous without heaving. After another 6 months I could eat it, but in small portions.
Everything else I went off during pregnancies - meat, noodles and cabbage I could eat pretty much straight away.
Strange one with me, not food related at all...action films. Pregnant with DD2 I went off action films. They immediately made me angry. I have no idea why! They still bother me!

[awankstainonhumanity]

Tea and coffee I'm now fine with, bit artificial fruit flavours and some meat I'm still not keen on- can no longer eat game and I used to love it. So some do, some don't!

[BeyondThePage]

I wonder what it is - tea/meat/cabbage/beer - all mentioned more than once.

[Buglife]

Last pregnancy about 90% of foods I loved absolutely repulsed me. Strong tastes like garlic and spices etc were the worst. I went off meat and veg. Eating was a chore and going to a supermarket made me ill. The day after DS came out I was sat eating Salt and Chilli squid and Crispy duck pancakes from the Chinese and loving every mouthful. It’s all hormones. If it took a while to eat some foods again that was more because of associated them with vomiting so it was a pyschological thing more than the physical hormonal revulsion of pregnancy. And I adored wine again!

[BertieBotts]

The only aversion I've kept is golden syrup. And even now I do like it, I just don't love it like I did pre pregnancy and I have to be in the right mood for it now - so in a flapjack, on pancake etc it's alright but I wouldn't just eat it off a spoon like I used to!

That's probably a good thing TBH And DS is 9 so it can last a long time.

[OuchBollocks]

I like alcohol again - went off it violently both times - but I still can't bear even the idea of seafood/ shellfish and my last baby is nearly 1.

[MissEliza]

IME they come back but they took a long time. I had really strange aversions, like to fruits of the forest jam ! My dm went right off vodka when she was pregnant with me but that never came back!

[EveryoneTalkAboutPopMusic]

My DCousin went off coffee in her last PG. hate to tell you this but the baby is 24 now and she still can’t drink it.

On the plus side, I could never eat salmon until my last of, now I love the stuff.

[Rumpledfaceskin]

Yes they come back. I can’t stand onions, leeks, Garlic or tea and coffee when pregnant. The only thing that upset me slightly is that I’ve never enjoyed a g&t as much post pregnancy. I’ve no idea why as I never drank gin whilst pregnant but I did sip on tonic to curb sickness so it’s probably more an association.

[Backenette]

It may or may not.

I had hg with the first and many, many aversions. Tea, broccoli, all sorts of stuff. I was never into beer but I really enjoyed a single non alc weisbier now and again. The hoppy taste is probably the vitamin b craving ;)

I was left with lasting aversions and my sense of taste and smell remained hypersensitive (I have always had a crazy good smell !) I can no longer drink wine, or eat peppers or many other things. No idea if that’s physical, psychological or a mix

Now pregnant with no 2 and have hg again. Same aversions to tea, vegetables, meat, etc etc.

You will most likely get your sense of taste back.

[SeraphinaDombegh]

Almost all my tastes have returned to normal. The only thing that changed permanently was that the special tea I used to like, which had a hint of floral in it, started tasting overwhelmingly floral and less like tea. Not a significant loss!

[Backenette]

I wonder what it is -tea/meat/cabbage/beer - all mentioned more than once.

All potentially harmful to the foetus or gravida. Parasites in meat, bacteria in dairy, caffeine and alkaloids in tea, coffee and the more bitter veg.

Interestingly morning sickness is less common in populations that have ‘low harm’ staples like maize/corn and more common in those with more meat/dairy heavy diets. There’s a theory that ms is adaptive to prevent the wonan from ingesting potentially harmful foods.,

[FloralSocks]

Yes pretty much immediately after delivery my taste buds were back to normal

[why12345]

That's the one thing I hated about being pregnant! The constant metal taste in my mouth and hating foods I used to love. It all sorts it's self out though!