Why tasteless during pregnancy

Having a metallic taste in your mouth dysgeusia is common in the first trimester. Blame it on pregnancy hormones, specifically a surge in estrogen.

You can't prevent the sour taste in your mouth, but you can combat it by eating tart, acidic foods and gargling with a mild solution of water with salt or baking soda. The good news is that dysgeusia usually goes away in the second trimester, when pregnancy hormone levels even out.

It's called dysgeusia pronounced dis-GYOO-zee-a. It's very common in the first trimester, and typically subsides in the second. You might describe the taste as unpleasantly bitter, sour, burnt, or salty — or like you've been sucking on pennies. Some people believe that having a metallic taste in your mouth early in pregnancy predicts your baby's gender , but there's no evidence to support that. A surge in hormones in early pregnancy can heighten your sense of smell, and this is intimately connected with the sense of taste.

The most likely cause is estrogen, which rises dramatically in the first trimester. There's some evidence that this increased sensitivity to bitter tastes is an evolutionary response, making you wary of foods that may be poisonous. Dysgeusia may make you pickier about the food you consume.

Just do your best to eat as well as you can — even if that means lots of sour pickles and lemonade for a while. The good news is that taste aversions generally go away by the second trimester, when hormone levels plateau. BabyCenter's editorial team is committed to providing the most helpful and trustworthy pregnancy and parenting information in the world.

When creating and updating content, we rely on credible sources: respected health organizations, professional groups of doctors and other experts, and published studies in peer-reviewed journals. We believe you should always know the source of the information you're seeing. Learn more about our editorial and medical review policies.

Faas MM et al. A brief review on how pregnancy and sex hormones interfere with taste and food intake. Try rinsing your mouth out with orange juice or sucking on some lemons if your tummy can handle it during your first trimester. New episodes air Mondays on Facebook. November See All Trying Birth After.

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