Why Do Your Boobs Smell Like Cheese During Pregnancy? It's A Thing, & Experts Explain Why

There comes a time during every woman’s pregnancy where she hears a question leave her lips that she never dreamed possible. For me, it was, “Why does my vagina hurt so effing bad?” I just blurted it out to my doctor before she could even shut the door to the exam room. Turns out, I had a looming pelvic injury that would rear its ugly head after birth, but that’s another story. The point is, growing a human comes with all the questions. Including this one that I heard recently: Why do your boobs smell like cheese during pregnancy?

Ready for this roller coaster ride? Here we go.

According to Fit Pregnancy, experts say that one of the craziest things to come hand-in-hand with pregnancy is a woman’s bionic sense of taste, touch, smell, and so forth. What that means is that since the mood swings and morning sickness obviously weren’t enough, hormones also have a way of jacking up your awareness of even the smallest things, like, and let me just pull this out of thin air, your husband crunching chips while sitting next to you on the couch.

The same goes for smell. The raw poultry that makes you gag or the whiff of bad breath that has you holding your nose is the same reason you might put your nose close to your bosom and think, “Is that me?”

But what about the cheesy smell? Experts say you could be picking up on the beginnings of colostrum production, a sign your body is preparing to breastfeed. According to the American Pregnancy Association, the discharge of colostrum, or pre-milk, may occur at any time, especially when your breasts are massaged, or when sexually stimulated. And, yes, it really can come in a range of colors, including red, yellow, and orange, so don't freak out.

Of course, if it’s not the colostrum that’s making you wonder if your boobs are making Brie, then it could be that you just need a shower. The bump in hormones and increased blood flow that comes with pregnancy can have your chest smelling like your underarms.

“As a result of this enhanced sense of smell, pregnant women are more likely to have an increased sensitivity to the scent of their own body,” says Dr. Angela Jones, Astroglide’s resident sexual health advisor, in an email interview with Romper.

OK, so you're feeling better about your cheddar scented boobs, right? As for the chip-crunching husband — deep breaths.