Evidence that Playing Music for the Womb Works

Many people believe that playing music for babies while in the womb has a profound effect on their development, particularly on their brains. Unfortunately, concrete scientific proof of this is limited, mainly because of the difficulties involved in studying unborn children. However, there are some case studies from around the world which demonstrate the effects of this seemingly inexplicable phenomenon.

A study conducted by the University of Helsinki proved that playing music for the womb can improve a baby’s memory. In this study, the researchers instructed 12 mothers-to-be to play ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’ five times a week, during the last three months of their pregnancy. When the babies were born, they were exposed to the music again, only this time some parts of it were altered. By reading their brainwaves, these babies quickly recognized the edited music, while those who weren’t exposed to the tune while in the womb didn’t see any difference.

This study was similar, but more-refined, to an earlier research conducted in 1991. As reported by the BBC, one-year-old babies who were exposed to classical music in the womb are easily calmed whenever they listen to the familiar tune, suggesting that this practice can help parents control restless children.

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?

On Prenatal Development and Auditory Senses

Many studies have been conducted throughout the years regarding how prenatal development can be achieved through music. Recent discoveries about infant brain development state that the baby's brain can already process information while still in the womb. Sounds that mimic the mother's heartbeat and classical symphonies are examples of music that, when exposed to unborn children, will help greatly in their cognitive development.

What Happens during the Different Stages of Prenatal Development?

Prenatal or fetal development is the process taking place within a mother's womb. This is basically the time when the baby is being developed, happening after conception and before birth. Doctors often use the prenatal period to do check-ups on both the development of the child and the mother's well-being to ensure the safety of both during this time until pregnancy. Medical experts even divided the the prenatal process into different stages to ensure that proper care is being given to both mother and child during its proper time.

The Germinal Stage: From The Child's Conception

When the father's sperm cell and mother's egg cell unite, the resulting cell, the zygote, travels down to the fallopian tube where germination takes place. Germination of the zygote essentially is when the cell divides itself, forming more cells and differentiating themselves from one another, resulting in the eventual formation of the placenta and the embryo, the premature baby. The embryo travels into the uterus where it attaches to one of its walls and receives nutrients from its mother until its birth. The whole germinal stage happens twenty-four hours after conception and lasts for one to three weeks.

The Embryonic Stage: From Cell to Child

The embryonic period usually is the time when the baby's features are formed. The cell division that took place in the germinal stage of the fallopian tube continues in the uterus, where the different cells form the different systems of a human baby. From its outer features like the head, hands and feet, to its inner organs like the heart and brain, the baby's development becomes distinct. The embryo is already developing into a human. This stage takes place after the third week and may last until the eighth week after conception.

The Fetal Stage: From Development to Growth

This phase takes place from the eight week until birth. The embryo develops further into a fetus with its growth becoming quite visible, as seen with the mother's womb becoming larger. The fetal stage is the longest stage of prenatal development since aside from the changes happening to the baby, the development of its organs has already reached its climax. The brain of the child is already responding and the heart, beating. Reproductive organs are also developed during this stage, determining the gender of the baby. The growth of the child continues until its ninth month, which is typically when pregnancy ends and the child is born.

How Maternal Heartbeat Sounds Aid in Baby's Prenatal Development Stage

There's a memorable scene in the hit movie “Baby Mama” where Tina Fey's character tells Amy Poehler's character how important prenatal care is. Fey stresses that whatever the pregnant mom eats, the baby eats; whatever the pregnant mom listens to, the baby listens to. Poehler then quips that she prefers that the baby listens to DMX's rap music like she does.

While that scene was played out for laughs, Fey was actually on to something. Scientific research attests that the fetus's hearing ability is already well developed by the end of the second trimester, and music can stimulate brain activity. However, what you make your baby-to-be listen to is incredibly important; you may love heavy metal music, but this type of music may not be a good idea during the prenatal development stage.

Classical Music

Many parenting resources suggest that the most ideal type of music to make babies-to-be listen to is classical music, preferably Mozart's or Bach's. However, there is actually no concrete evidence that listening to classical music during pregnancy will help produce highly intelligent babies. Evidence is strong, though, that there is much significant effect of exposing babies to classical music—that is, when they are out of their mom's wombs.

In addition, listening to classical music may aid in the production of breast milk in nursing moms. This statement is at least according to research by psychologist and book author Sergio della Sala. Sala wrote that a farmer in Italy told him that playing Mozart at least three times a day helped his buffalos produce better milk.

Maternal Heartbeat Sounds

While classical music has yet to be proven in early brain development, a report in Time magazine says that maternal voice and heartbeat sounds provide comfort to premature babies. In the same way, pre-born babies can be stimulated by electronic devices that replicate maternal heartbeat sounds.

Putting a pair of headphones against the belly of a pregnant mom makes for a comical scene in some TV shows and movies. However, there is truth to how babies can respond to the sounds they hear even when they are in their mom's womb.

Education During Fetal Development

A lot of parents would consider it ideal to be involved with their kids every step of the way. Now, it’s possible to be involved even during fetal development, which happens right after the moment of conception.

What’s Happening in There? The Main Stages of Prenatal Development

Congratulations! You are now an expectant Mom. As you wait for your bouncing baby to be born, have you ever wondered how things go inside your belly? Well, it actually is important to know how your pregnancy moves on from conception to birth – so that proper care is administered. Since there are a lot of development stages, here is a much simpler version of the process.

First 10 Weeks:

Known as the fetal development stage, this period includes the formation of major organs including the brain, lungs, and the gastrointestinal tract. Limbs also begin to become visible as little buds protruding out of the fetus’ body. During this stage, the fetus doesn’t appear to look human yet.

Week 11-21:

Known as the gestation period, the 11th-21st weeks see the further development of physical features like the face, limbs and even the first senses – most notably, hearing. Yes, your baby can hear you talking to him whenever you do. Also, the baby’s genitals can now be differentiated by ultrasound, which allows for early gender detection. However, if you want a little bit of surprise, you can always tell your doctor to withhold the news of your baby’s sex until delivery.

Week 22-32:

During this stage, the bones, muscles, limbs and major organs have already developed. The eyes can now open and close – which can lead to amazing images on a 3D ultrasound where the baby seems to “look around” him. Developed muscles now allow him to move independently, and the respiratory tract is now ready to perform gas exchanges. In other words, the baby has begun to appear more human.

Week 33-42:

The final ten weeks of prenatal development prepares your baby for his big day. At this stage, all his limbs, major organs, and distinguishing physical features are developed. He also now has a headful of hair. Being an expectant Mom is considered one of the best feelings in the world.

A healthy baby is both a gift and a responsibility – it is your duty to guide, nurture and make him appreciate the world he will live in.

The Lowdown on Early Brain Development: Raising Your Own Baby Mozart

Ever heard of the parenting myth which states that, “Fetuses exposed to classical early have higher learning rates than those who weren’t?” Yes, a lot of parents believed that fetal stage learning is possible. And they were right – minus the fact that music is still too complex for a fetus’ brain to comprehend. Knowing how a baby’s mind works is vital in helping him perceive and appreciate the world around him much better. Here are some major points about that:

The human brain is built from the bottom up.

A child’s begins learning as soon his first senses develop – in this case, vision and hearing. At this stage, 700 new neural connections are formed every second. This period of rapid proliferation is slowed down by a process called pruning, which decreases neural connections to give way to more complex brain circuits. Since hearing is one of the first senses, studies have shown that enhancing the “auditory atmosphere” in the womb helps the baby differentiate and prefer to react to natural sounds rather than unnatural ones – say, a mother’s heartbeat from another source. In other words, pre-birth learning has begun.

Experience is the best teacher.

Physical experiences have the biggest effect on a developing mind – in fact, it can even lead to disparities between learning and behavior. This means that babies will differ in terms of learning quickness and behavior because of the stimuli they receive from different situations. Also, early exhibitions of social or cognitive functions are directly affected by the environmental stimuli – and can be exact pre-requisites for academic or career success in the future.

Stress can deteriorate the developing brain early on.

Chronic stress, whether exhibited by the mother while the baby is in the womb or induced by society after a child’s birth, is shown to cause adverse effects to a baby’s developing brain. This can lead into slowed-down learning, inappropriate behavior and even mental problems. Want to raise your own baby Mozart? Keep this information in mind, and only time will tell if you are going to bring forth a smart, healthy child or not.