by Patricia Hughes
Various studies conducted over the past two decades have demonstrated the ability of the fetus to hear sound. The inner ear is fully developed in last trimester of pregnancy. By 26 weeks, most respond with an increase in heart rate to sound stimulation. Many studies have pointed to the change in heart rate as a positive sign that the baby is stimulated by the music.
One study published in the Music Educators Journal looked at the effect of exposure to music in the prenatal period. Some participants were given music in the womb, either sedating or stimulating musical selections. After the birth of the baby, the parents and infants visited the researcher, and a range of activities and responses were observed by researchers. The study found that exposure to music in the prenatal period seemed to be linked to increased attention, more sound imitation and earlier vocalization in the baby.
Most of what the fetus hears is the mother’s voice and internal sounds of the mother’s body, such as breathing, movements and other sounds. There have been many studies that suggest the mother’s voice is the preferred sound of newborns, who appear to recognize their mother’s voice at birth. Singing along with music makes sense because it gives baby the opportunity to hear your voice and music.
It makes sense that stimulation of the brain with music would have a positive effect. It is when the baby is growing in the mother’s body that the majority of brain development occurs. The idea behind research into music exposure during the pregnancy is designed to enhance the development of the brain with appropriate stimuli. Research continues into this subject and determining which music has the most positive effect.
Not all scientists agree that music has positive effects on the fetus. Some reject the theory that an increase in heart rate signals a positive response in the fetus. One such researcher is University of California neuroscientist Gordon Shaw. Shaw suggests the change could be a signal the baby is not comfortable with the sound.
There is some evidence to suggest the type of music may influence the baby’s response. Soothing, classical music and nature sounds are believed to be soothing, while louder types of music may startle the baby.
Another factor is the volume of the music, which could be played too loudly. Some people believe the sounds are muffled and increase the volume or put speakers or headphones on the abdomen directly playing into the baby’s head. Sound is conducted by the amniotic fluid and it is easy for this method to produce music that is too loud for the baby.
It’s important to note that there are no long term studies that demonstrate listening to music in the womb will influence the baby’s intelligence or translate into success in learning later. However, this idea is based on anecdotal evidence that classical music stimulates different areas of the brain, which is thought to stimulate better connections in the brain. The hypothesis is that the increase in connectors will result in enhanced memory and information processing functions of the brain later. This theory has yet to be proven with research, and may or may not turn out to be the case.
Whether or not exposure to music will make baby smarter, there is some evidence to suggest soft music, such as quiet classical music and nature sounds have a calming effect on the baby. This often continues after birth. Many babies are soothed by the same soft music they heard during the pregnancy and recognize the rhythm. Several studies have demonstrated the newborn’s ability to recognize certain music selections that were played during pregnancy.
Music benefits mom by helping to her to relax or lifting a low mood. That is good for the baby because research has demonstrated that baby is affected by mom’s emotions. So, choose music that you find relaxing and not too loud. Loud music is not good, as it can startle the baby. A general rule of thumb is to keep the music to the level that is played in stores.
Products are sold to parents as essential tools for playing music for the baby and reaping any benefit that may result from music exposure. A typical style is a belt that is worn around the belly to project the music to the baby. Check the decibel level to make sure the music is at a comfortable level for baby. These products are nice, but not necessary. Because the amniotic fluid conducts sound well, playing music in the background as you go about your day works too.
BiographyPatricia Hughes is a freelance writer and mother of four. Patricia has a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from Florida Atlantic University. She has written extensively on pregnancy, childbirth, parenting and breastfeeding. In addition, she has written about home décor and travel. View the original post here.
ScienceDaily (Nov. 5, 2009) — From their very first days, newborns’ cries already bear the mark of the language their parents speak, reveals a new study published online in Current Biology. The findings suggest that infants begin picking up elements of what will be their first language in the womb, and certainly long before their first babble or coo.
“The dramatic finding of this study is that not only are human neonates capable of producing different cry melodies, but they prefer to produce those melody patterns that are typical for the ambient language they have heard during their fetal life, within the last trimester of gestation,” said Kathleen Wermke of the University of Würzburg in Germany. “Contrary to orthodox interpretations, these data support the importance of human infants’ crying for seeding language development.”
Human fetuses are able to memorize sounds from the external world by the last trimester of pregnancy, with a particular sensitivity to melody contour in both music and language, earlier studies showed. Newborns prefer their mother’s voice over other voices and perceive the emotional content of messages conveyed via intonation contours in maternal speech (a.k.a. “motherese”). Their perceptual preference for the surrounding language and their ability to distinguish between different languages and pitch changes are based primarily on melody.
Although prenatal exposure to native language was known to influence newborns’ perception, scientists had thought that the surrounding language affected sound production much later, the researchers said. It now appears that isn’t so.
Wermke’s team recorded and analyzed the cries of 60 healthy newborns, 30 born into French-speaking families and 30 born into German-speaking families, when they were three to five days old. That analysis revealed clear differences in the shape of the newborns’ cry melodies, based on their mother tongue.
Specifically, French newborns tend to cry with a rising melody contour, whereas German newborns seem to prefer a falling melody contour in their crying. Those patterns are consistent with characteristic differences between the two languages, Wermke said.
The new data show an extremely early impact of native language, the researchers say. Earlier studies of vocal imitation had shown that infants can match vowel sounds presented to them by adult speakers, but only from 12 weeks on. That skill depends on vocal control that just isn’t physically possible much earlier, the researchers explain.
“Imitation of melody contour, in contrast, is merely predicated upon well-coordinated respiratory-laryngeal mechanisms and is not constrained by articulatory immaturity,” they write. “Newborns are probably highly motivated to imitate their mother’s behavior in order to attract her and hence to foster bonding. Because melody contour may be the only aspect of their mother’s speech that newborns are able to imitate, this might explain why we found melody contour imitation at that early age.”
The researchers include Birgit Mampe, University of Wurzburg, Wurzburg, Germany; Angela D. Friederici, Max-Planck-Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany; Anne Christophe, Ecole Normale Superieure/CNRS, Paris, France; and Kathleen Wermke, University of Wurzburg, Wurzburg, Germany.
by Asa Jomard
Published May 25, 2009 @ www.thebabycorner.com
Have you ever wondered what it sounds like inside the womb? Listening to a CD with natural womb sounds, the sounds of heartbeats and relaxing arias might give you some idea. Putting your ears against a friend’s stomach is another way of entering the sound world of the womb. A baby lives in a stimulating world filled with sounds, motions and vibrations, and the first sounds a baby hears are the rhythmic, natural sounds of heartbeat, blood circulating, and the whoosh of amniotic fluid.
Hearing in the womb
The ear begins to develop during the third week and at twenty weeks a baby’s ear resembles an adult’s in shape and size. Four weeks later the hearing is fully developed, and a baby can hear voices, music and other sounds outside the womb. The sounds in the womb are muffled, but the melody and rhythm of music are not much altered. A baby’s brain registers rhythmic patterns, and changes in beat and melody are picked up. Certain frequencies travel through the fluid better than others, and low frequencies will reach the womb without any problems. Music with lots of bass and percussion instruments are a good choice if you want to make sure that your baby can hear the music.
The sound of mother’s and father’s voices
For centuries, mothers have sung lullabies to not only their newborn babies but also to their unborn babies. A mother’s voice comes to the womb through her own body and it is stronger, richer and less distorted when it reaches the baby than outside sounds. Many sounds and noises travel to the inner ear through vibrations in the baby’s skull.
A newborn baby may show preference for their mother’s voice, but a father’s deeper voice travels well through water. If the father talks or sings to the unborn baby on a regular basis, the baby will later recognize the voice.
Music and Learning
Listening to music can enhance a baby’s life in the womb by stimulating the ear, brain, and body. Music is an important form of communication which prepares the baby for later learning in life. A foundation for sound and language comprehension is laid. Listening to music and singing is a healthy and wonderful way to stimulate a baby’s development.
Babies develop prenatal memories, and they recognize and prefer music and songs that they have heard in the womb. The sense of familiarity has a soothing effect, and it may help to calm a crying newborn. Familiar music might make a newborn baby suck more intensively, or move their body more. The sound of oceans and water may also have a calming effect since they resemble the sounds in the womb.
Choice of music
The mothers’ reaction and mood may influence a baby more than certain style of music. The emotional qualities are communicated to the baby, and a baby will pick up the happy, relaxed and calm state. Research suggests that the prenatal musical memory is the same for different types of music. There is no evidence to suggest that playing classical music is more beneficial, and a baby’s memory for R&B is as strong as for the memory Vivaldi or Bach.
The pace of the music seems to be more important than the music style, and the music does not have to be slow. But beats that are random rather than rhythmic and sudden shifts in volume may startle a baby. Try playing different kinds of music and see how your baby reacts. Does your baby kick faster when you play quicker music? Does your baby calm down when you play certain music?
Ways of sharing music
Listening to music is a pleasant and effective way to relax and though musical overstimulation will not physically harm, it may make a baby feel overwhelmed. A baby’s heart rate and breathing pattern changes according to the beats. Listening to rapid beats for a long period may be a stressful experience.
Playing background music is one way of listening to music together. You can also place the headphones directly to the abdomen, but this listening session should be limited. The best advice is to monitor what the baby is doing, and not to play for more than hour or two a day. An over-stimulated baby will stop reacting, and a baby’s sleeping pattern might be disturbed by too much stimulation. Remember to check the volume before placing headphones on the abdomen.
Relax and Enjoy
Playing music when you want to relax is a wonderful way of using music. Take time to sit quietly and invite your baby to a concert in the womb. Singing and listening to music is a beautiful way to begin your relationship with your baby. And it may provide you with a good tool to use when the baby is born, the same songs and tunes may soothe a newborn baby faster. Happy and blissful listening!
Asa Jomard is a freelance writer, with degrees in Psychology and Counseling. She enjoys gardening, star watching, playing with her dog and cat, and listening to music. She has a teen aged daughter.
Pregnant women are being taught to sing to their unborn babies in a pioneering project at an NHS hospital.
7:00AM GMT 22 Mar 2011
The “womb song” classes are intended to boost language skills in infants and also help mothers develop a closer bond with them.
Women who attend the classes are taught how to sing a range of songs including rounds and lullabies – although not nursery rhymes.
Maya Waldman, who runs the project, said: “The repertoire is a selection of quite simple and inspiring songs from around the world. They are quite soulful, some are uplifting and some relaxing.
“One of the goals is increasing the chance of people singing to their children.”
The Womb Song workshops, which started in January for women booked into the maternity unit at Chelsea and Westminster NHS foundation trust in west London, are based on the idea that unborn babies respond to music and their parents’ voices.
It is hoped that singing “can provide emotional, social, educational and physical benefits for women and their babies during pregnancy, labour and after birth”.
The classes are intended to “strengthen communication” between mother and child but also “prepare for labour through vocal and breathing exercises”, and “build musical confidence and repertoire”.
So far about 10 mothers-to-be have been attending the 90-minute classes, which are part-funded by the local authority and the hospital’s health charity and free for the participants.
They are thought to be the first singing for health project aimed at pregnant women in the NHS.
Anna Matthams, arts assistant for the Chelsea and Westminster’s health charity, said: “Singing is a very early form of communication and expression.
“The baby’s auditory system is one of the first things to develop and there’s a lot of physiological evidence that singing helps with language development.”
Liz Neale, a first-time mother who has attended the classes, said she felt self-conscious talking to her baby in the womb but enjoyed singing to her.
“I’m a first-time mum but we were very calm and relaxed for her birth at Chelsea and Westminster – I’m sure the singing really helped,” she said.
Article originally posted at www.telegraph.co.uk
Infants exposed to different vocabularies early on prepares them to listen to and learn multiple languages.
Babies who hear two languages regularly when they are in their mother’s womb are more open to being bilingual, a study published this week in Psychological Scienceshows.
Read full article at Daily Good
According to the results of a small UK study, children recognize and prefer music they were exposed to in the womb for at least a year after they are born.
Researcher Dr. Alexandra Lamont stated that while she found no evidence that just playing music to babies improved their intelligence, the results are exciting as they suggest that the developing brain is capable of storing and recovering memories over a long period of time. (more…)
