Steiner (1922) reported that almost all pregnant women report a stronger sense of smell, usually in the early months of pregnancy and particularly in the first pregnancy. As early as 1895, Zwaardemaker documented that self-reported hyperosmia is common in pregnancy, although he also noted that empirical measurements of this phenomenon were lacking ( Zwaardemaker, 1895). It is clear from perusing websites, reading popular books on pregnancy, and from discussions with pregnant women, that something in the perception of odors changes during pregnancy 1.

The most consistent source of evidence that the sense of smell of women changes during pregnancy comes from anecdotal reports and questionnaire studies. Self-Reported Change in Sense of Smell During Pregnancy In this review, I summarize the literature on pregnancy and olfaction in humans and explore the possible mechanisms that could underlie the changes women often notice in their perception of odors during pregnancy. Heightened sense of smell in pregnancy is an important topic because it has been hypothesized to be a trigger for nausea and vomiting ( Erick, 1995 Heinrichs, 2002) and an evolutionary mechanism has been proposed – namely that increased olfactory sensitivity protects the developing embryo by reducing the likelihood that the mother will ingest toxins ( Steiner, 1922 Profet, 1992). However, the scientific literature on this topic is rather limited and inconclusive.

Anecdotal reports of heightened sense of smell during pregnancy are common, and the majority of pregnant women report increased olfactory sensitivity ( Nordin et al., 2004 Cameron, 2007, 2014).

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