Ah, pregnancy. Beautiful, life-affirming, and sometimes downright weird. Your body goes through some pretty incredible changes when you’re pregnant, but it doesn’t end with stretch marks, swollen bellies, and varicose veins. Even your vagina can get in on the change action while you’re expecting. You may have already experienced increased discharge or a new odor, but does your vagina taste different while you’re pregnant?
Unless your partner’s come right out and told you, you probably have no idea. But thanks to a whole lot of hormone shifting, it’s possible that down there tastes differently than before. According to Everyday Health, the ever changing hormones can shift your vagina’s pH balance — the magical formula that wards off infections and helps keep beneficial bacteria around. When it’s balanced, your vagina is super healthy and ready to take on the world. But when the pH balance is off, this can cause a change in odor or taste. And one of the biggest culprits of an elevated pH? Pregnancy.
This shouldn’t be an excuse for your partner to forgo foreplay, however. According to the Journal of Perinatal Education, a study found that the vaginal secretions during pregnancy often tasted saltier or more metallic than usual. Bonus? The taste seemed to disappear once a woman reached an orgasm.
Because the hormone shifts in pregnancy are constantly happening, there’s really not much you can do to ward off any difference in your vagina’s taste. Instead, keep an eye on any other vaginal changes that could mean an infection, like vaginal itching or burning. But pregnancy isn’t the only thing that can affect your vagina’s taste. If you’re curious about what goes on down there, here are three other culprits that can change up the menu downstairs.
1. Alcohol
If you’re pregnant, this one won’t matter for a few months, but it’s something to keep in mind. Women’s Health noted that alcohol can disturb your vagina’s pH balance, leaving an off taste if your partner’s mouth. Try not to think about it during your drunken sexcapades though. It’s hard enough to cum when you’re buzzed, let alone if you’re worried about how you taste.
2. Excess Dairy
Although there is no scientific evidence to back this up, Cosmopolitan wrote that ingesting excessive amounts of dairy can affect your body odor, so it makes sense that it could affect your vaginal secretions. Skip out on the cheese and milk if you’re worried about smelling less than fresh down there.
3. Sweat
If you’ve just done an hour of zumba or tried to get all the groceries into the house in one trip, you might be a bit sweaty. And sweat isn’t a pleasant odor, especially in your lady parts, according to Bustle. Because smell is a major sense when it comes to taste, you might taste a little muskier than usual.
