London (dpa) – "You’ll get used to it in no time." So goes the reassurance given by many a grandparent to a son or daughter wincing at the prospect of that first nappy-change of a newborn. The likelihood is that granny and grandad not only have a strong stomach, but, following years of parenting, have become "inoculated" against the retch-inducing, hold-your-nose aversion that excrement and bodily fluids can prompt in less-experienced guts. Researchers have found that parents – particularly those of experience with at least some children whose nappy days are in the past – are far less likely to get the ick from images of excrement than others. "Repeated, long-term exposure to bodily waste significantly reduces parents’ disgust responses, with effects that persist over time," according to scientists at the University of Bristol, explaining the matter-of-fact resilience that parenting hones. It seems that "prolonged, unavoidable exposure" to nappies results in a desensitization that is not only general but lasts long after early-years parenting. Such resilience could be an asset in other areas and at other stages of life, such as in caregiving, the researchers pointed out. "Parenthood doesn't just change daily routines, it can fundamentally alter how humans experience disgust, with lasting effects that extend beyond childcare itself," said Edwin Dalmaijer, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Bristol. In contrast, people without children "showed strong avoidance of images depicting bodily waste," while those whose children were young enough to be still milk-fed were just as squeamish. Thefindings , published in the Scandinavian Journal of Psychology in January, suggest that such aversion is possibly rooted in a parent’s protective instincts, which can change into something more like resilience as a child develops and becomes less vulnerable. "Heightened disgust during the milk-feeding stage could help reduce disease risk for young infants, while later desensitisation allows parents to care for their children when they are ill," they suggested. And for those without kids who want to run the other way – say if a pal with a six-month-old jokes about changing a nappy – they too are likely acting out a deep-seated survival instinct. "Disgust occurs in response to stimuli that could carry pathogens, seemingly to help individuals avoid the risk of contamination," the researchers said. The following information is not intended for publication dpa spr coh
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