Prenatal Music Gives Babies a Life Advantage

Music can have a profound effect on people’s brains, as many studies have found. It can reduce stress, improve cognitive ability, elevate mood, and help people perform better in high-pressure situations. Evidence is showing that music might be useful as a tool for stimulating the development of babies’ brains while they are still in the womb.

This idea is based around the recent discovery that the development of a prenatal baby’s auditory organs actually occurs quite early into the pregnancy. Researchers have found that at around 16 weeks, a baby gains the ability to perceive auditory queues and may even respond to them. Development of the brain is also elevated during this phase.

Mothers who regularly sing or read to their babies during their pregnancy often report that their children are better behaved than their peers and exhibit superior learning skills. Additionally, mothers who used prenatal sound systems— specialized equipment designed to direct sounds into a mothers’ womb during her pregnancy—have observed differences between children who were exposed to such systems as opposed to those who weren’t.

While the idea of using music to improve prenatal development and, consequently, affect children’s cognitive abilities after birth has yet to be studied in depth, what anecdotal evidence there is seems to support that fact. It is understandable, therefore, that parents would jump at the chance to give their children a competitive edge—because, realistically, what parent wouldn’t?

Music during Pregnancy: Not always what You Think

If you’re an expectant mom and have read and researched everything you can about ensuring that your baby is born healthy, chances are you’ve seen images of a mother holding big earphones over their bulging tummies and making their babies listen to music. In many cases, music does have a stimulating effect on an unborn child. However, the outcome can swing in either favorable or uncomfortable situations for the baby.

Auditory Stimulation for Babies in the Womb

Lullabies, music, your mother’s voice—these are all sounds that bring your childhood back to mind. What if these sounds aren’t just a memory from when you were a child? What if you first heard these sounds while you were still inside your mother’s womb and retained them after birth?