I can't kiss my husband when I'm pregnant - his breath makes me gag

“His breath smelled bad throughout the entire pregnancy. It smells like he hasn’t brushed his teeth for over a month,” the Aussie mum says.

Jack Hobbs

3 min read

July 3, 2023 - 8:57AM

Pregnancy

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An Australian mother revealed how her husband’s breath made her feel “physically sick” while she was pregnant

Maxi Ducer told Kennedy News that she discovered this when she was pregnant with the couple’s first child in 2020.

“When it happened in my first pregnancy it was a bit of a shock to be honest,” admitted the 25-year-old. “I had just married him and moved in with him and I felt like I didn’t love him.

“His breath smelled bad throughout the entire [first] pregnancy. It smells like he hasn’t brushed his teeth for over a month and he has eaten a lot of junk food.”

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"Worse than morning breath"

Ducer added that the smell was “worse than morning breath” and made her feel like she was going to puke.

Following the birth of her son, Ducer realised that it was not uncommon for a pregnant woman to experience changes in their senses.

“It’s got everything to do with my hormones. I wasn’t feeling him and was put right off him,” she explained. “My love language is physical touch so it was a big change for both of us [in the first pregnancy] and we didn’t know this could happen.”

Ducer said she knew immediately she was pregnant again when she started gagging whenever her husband kissed her.

Kennedy News/@maxiducer

"It's coming"

Thankfully though, the couple was prepared to deal with her condition during the second pregnancy.

“I had hyperemesis so I had severe morning sickness and had to be admitted to hospital so I have had it a lot worse,” explained Ducer. “Because we went through this the first time around, I just now tell him how I’m feeling.”

The couple told the outlet that they use the phrase, “It’s coming,” as a way to tell each other they need some space.

Ducer’s sensitivity to smells has taken a toll on her husband.

“He told me it’s not easy but he understands,” she said. “Because he’s been through it before with me it’s a bit easier and he knows it’s not me.”

"I don't hate you anymore"

During her first pregnancy, she said she made her husband brush his teeth “like four times in a day,” but he has since stopped.

“My husband just looks different when I’m pregnant, like he’s my husband but he’s also not,” she explained.

Ducer hopes that her story provides comfort to other women going through the same thing.

“I just want to tell people that this can happen while you’re pregnant because it came to me as a shock and it’s good for the man to know too as it can be hard,” she said.

The couple’s baby girl is expected to be born in October and Ducer noted that she can’t wait to kiss her partner once more.

“I know it is very weird but as soon as I gave birth [to my first child] it felt like a veil was lifted off my face,” she gushed. “I looked at my husband and was like I don’t hate you anymore and this was the man I married.

“As soon as I have my baby I’m back in love with my husband again and I feel different. I can’t wait to have my baby girl so I can kiss my husband again. That would be so lovely, to kiss him and mean it."

This story was published by the New York Post and republished here with permission.