Benefits of Reading to a Baby in the Womb

Significance

• Babies are thought to begin learning the foundations of language while they are in the womb. As they grow in the womb, babies learn to recognize their mothers' voices and associate the voice with security and warmth. Many researchers and doctors believe that reading to a baby in the womb increases early development of intelligence and healthy emotions and have discovered that before babies begin babbling, perhaps even in the womb, their minds are processing the sounds and shapes of words and language.

Effects

• Reading to your baby while she is in the womb creates a bonding experience for you, your baby and anyone else in your family who participates in the readings. It allows everyone involved to feel more in tune with the events going on inside your belly while creating a bonding experience that allows them to feel an emotional connection to the baby. Reading to the baby also allows dads to experience a more intimate bonding connection with the baby in contrast to feeling disconnected from the pregnancy and viewing the experience only as a spectator. Research has shown that babies who are read a specific story continuously will respond to the same story in a calming manner. This response can help parents calm their baby before naps and bedtime.

Considerations

• William Fifer, an an associate professor of developmental psychobiology at Columbia University conducted research that proved newborns respond to the sounds of their mothers' voice as it would have sounded in the womb. Fifer and his associates played filtered recordings of the newborns' mothers' voices and a random woman's voice for the testing. The baby's were given pacifiers that were attached to a pressure transducer, and when the newborns heard their mother's voices, they reacted by sucking harder, signifying the ability to recognize the voice sounds they heard in the womb.

Misconceptions

• Modern contraptions that are being marketed under the concept of fetal education such as audio devices that women strap to their pregnant bellies to play music and story narrations may not be healthy or ideal for use by pregnant women. There is not sufficient evidence that the devices work, and because sound travels faster in water than in air, the sound waves are most likely extremely amplified in the amniotic fluid.

Warning

• Use caution when using anything that will stimulate your baby, and consult your physician before using any device that will emit sounds or movement to your unborn baby. Due to the fragility and individuality of each pregnancy, claims of safe use by the makers of such devices may not be applicable to your unique medical situation.