Parents who have tried hiding broccoli in brownies, smearing kale in ketchup, or bribing toddlers with screen time can finally put down the spatula: a new study suggests the winning strategy is to start brainwashing the child before they’re born.
Researchers at Durham University, along with colleagues in France, the Netherlands, and the UK, have found that children who were repeatedly exposed to vegetable flavours in the womb are less likely to grimace at them years later. The team gave pregnant women capsules of either kale powder or carrot powder, then tracked their babies’ facial reactions - first via ultrasound before birth, then at three weeks old, and again at age three.
The results were about as subtle as a toddler spitting out a Brussels sprout. Babies who smelled carrot were happy; those who smelled kale made a face that said “I’d rather eat sand.” And crucially, kids whose mothers had swallowed kale capsules during pregnancy were significantly more chill about kale when offered a whiff at age three. The same went for carrot.
“What we see over time is that the children are still more favourable to vegetables they were exposed to while they were in the womb,” said lead author Prof. Nadja Reissland. “Being exposed to a particular flavour in late pregnancy can result in long-lasting flavour or odour memory, potentially shaping food preferences years after birth.”
The study, published in the journal Developmental Psychobiology, is small - just 12 children were tracked to age three - and Reissland acknowledges that more research is needed. “We really need to do a much bigger study, and if we had the funding, we would,” she said. She also noted that some pregnant volunteers initially balked at drinking kale or carrot juice for science. “Some of them said absolutely not. They were choking, couldn’t do it. I mean, it was all really good juice, very expensive.”
The team eventually switched to powder capsules, which apparently goes down easier than “really good juice, very expensive.” Reissland added that the approach could be adapted across cultures: in Japan, for example, exposing foetuses to fish might encourage healthier eating later.
Co-author Dr. Beyza Ustun-Elayan of the University of Cambridge said the findings “open up new ways of thinking about early dietary interventions,” suggesting that flavours from the maternal diet during pregnancy “may quietly shape children’s responses to foods years later.” Another co-author, Dr. Benoist Schaal from the CNRS in France, noted that “research is needed on other odorants and how they affect the foetus and child.”
Reissland warned that artificial sweeteners are everywhere - even in toothpaste - and that we still have much to learn about what influences foetal development. But for now, the takeaway is clear: if you want your child to eat their greens, start nagging them before they’re born.