Sorry, pregnancy doesn't actually improve your sense of smell.

Photo: Flickr/nyuhuhuuHere on Seriously, Science? we like to feature studies that test commonly-held beliefs. If the data confirm the belief, many of you, our dear readers, complain that the study was a waste of money "because we already knew that!". But it's studies like this one that highlight why testing commonly-held beliefs is worthwhile. Here, researchers tested the belief that pregnancy heightens a woman's sense of smell by having groups of pregnant women, non-pregnant women, and men smell compounds of known concentrations. Surprisingly, they found out that pregnant women are no better at detecting very dilute smells, meaning that they do not have a more sensitive sense of smell. This doesn't mean that pregnant women don't actually experience a different response to smells, just that they aren't picking up on odors they couldn't smell before. So there you have it, another old wives' tale bites the dust. Science, FTW!Pregnancy does ...