Comparing disgust sensitivity in women in early pregnancy and non-pregnant women in the follicular and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle

Considered a part of the behavioral immune system, disgust functions as a protective mechanism against potential pathogen threat. There is evidence that disgust sensitivity varies depending on immunological and hormonal changes, including those occurring during the menstrual cycle or pregnancy. Although some studies indicate that disgust is elevated in early pregnancy, no study has yet compared disgust sensitivity in pregnant and non-pregnant women. This study aimed to examine differences in disgust sensitivity in pregnant versus non-pregnant women, while investigating whether disgust sensitivity differs depending on the phase of the menstrual cycle in non-pregnant women. The sample included 172 women (aged 21–40) in the first trimester of pregnancy and 354 non-pregnant, naturally cycling women (aged 20–40), out of whom 218 (61.6%) were in the luteal phase. All women filled out the Disgust Scale-Revised and the Three Domains of Disgust Scale. Non-pregnant women also completed the Culpepper Disgust Image Set. We observed that pregnant women had significantly higher pathogen-related and sexual disgust sensitivity than their non-pregnant counterparts (in both the follicular and luteal cycle phases). In non-pregnant women, there was no difference in disgust sensitivity between women in the follicular and luteal phases. When comparing pregnant women, women in the follicular phase, and those in the luteal phase, pathogen-related disgust sensitivity was lowest in the follicular, then in the luteal phase, and the highest in early pregnancy, although the difference between women in the follicular and luteal phase was not significant. Our results provide further evidence for the hypothesis that disgust is elevated when there is a need for increased protection, such as in the critical period of organogenesis in the first trimester of pregnancy.