Whether it’s a missed period, morning sickness, or unexpected fatigue, there are a few early pregnancy symptoms that are common knowledge. But what about a strange taste in your mouth? Yep, that can happen too — and Cardi B says it was the first symptom she noticed during her third pregnancy.
“I woke up one morning and my mouth tasted like copper,” the rapper said in a recent Instagram Live posted by a fan on social media. “It literally tasted like copper. So I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. This only happened to me when I’m pregnant.’ So I… automatically knew that I was pregnant.”
It may be one of the rarer symptoms of pregnancy, but you can definitely experience taste changes when you’re expecting. Why is that? Well, in a nutshell, hormones. According to the American Pregnancy Association, dysgeusia, or a change in your sense of taste due to pregnancy hormones (specifically, an increase of estrogen and progesterone), can cause a metallic, sour, or even rancid taste in your mouth. It might mean you dislike a food you normally love, or develop a taste for a snack you usually hate. You might even taste metal (or copper, as Cardi describes it) when you’re not actually eating anything.
Cardi, who’s also mom to daughter Kulture, 6, and son Wave, 3, with estranged husband Offset, said she noticed the taste around mid-March and estimated that she was six or seven weeks pregnant. Turns out, another surprise was in store: a visit to her doctor revealed she was off by about 10 weeks!
“[The doctor] was like, ‘You’re not like seven weeks pregnant or six weeks pregnant. You’re like 17 weeks pregnant.’ And I’m like, ‘What?’ ” Cardi recalled. “I was like, ‘No fucking way, I only had sex one time this year.’” A peek at the sonogram confirmed it, though. “It was a whole baby… it’s not like a little bean,” Cardi said. That was when the Grammy-nominated artist started to feel all the feelings. “I saw 10 toes and 10 fingers, I got real, real, real, real emotional right away,” she said.
Cardi was also excited to learn she was having a girl, saying she “started crying even more” when the doctor told her the baby’s sex. “Y’all know that I love raising girls,” she explained. Cardi gave birth on Sept. 7, announcing her daughter’s arrival with a sweet Instagram post — so it looks like dealing with that strange, coppery taste was well worth it. According to the APA, you can also ease symptoms of dysgeusia by practicing good oral hygiene, eating or drinking acidic things like citrus juices, or eating foods marinated in vinegar.
The good news? Dysgeusia is most common during the first trimester, according to studies, so most people are back to tasting things normally soon.
Before you go, shop these essentials for being pregnant and on bed rest: