Music in the Womb

Your baby's growth and development in the womb is a remarkable experience. At the beginning of your second month of pregnancy, your little one's eyes, nose and ears are clearly visible via ultrasound, and by the fifth month, your baby's hearing has fully developed. His newfound ability to recognize you and other familiar voices in the environment around him is quickly established.

Prenatal stimulation through music heard regularly while in the womb might provide some babies with a sense of confidence and relaxation after they're born. You and your baby also will quickly discover an excellent way to bond and share in the emotional and potential intellectual development benefits this method may bring.

Prenatal stimulation is a method that uses stimuli such as sounds (mother's voice and musical ones), movement, pressure, vibrations and light to communicate with a developing baby prior to birth. While in the womb, Baby learns to recognize and respond to different stimuli, which leads to encouragement of physical, mental and sensory development. Stimulation exercises will allow Baby to communicate with you and your spouse/partner through her movement in the womb, establish a relationship between specific stimuli (such as your voices) and, most importantly, help develop her memory.

Does your baby move rhythmically with the strains of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, or do you find she kicks up a storm whenever a song by Madonna comes on the car radio? With the right mix of sounds and repetition, Baby may enjoy a mix variety of music.

Most pediatric specialists agree that almost any type of music is suitable for you and Baby to enjoy. "Diversity of different kinds of music are essential and can be useful for the baby's future writing, reading and language skills," says Dr. Philip A. De Fina, associate professor at the New York University School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience and chief neuropsychologist and director of neurotherapies at the NYU Brain Research Laboratories.

Recent scientific research into the effects of prenatal music stimulation varies greatly. Several early childhood researchers believe there is no direct concrete evidence that supports the theory that music stimulation prior to birth means a child has a higher intelligence in her future. Other specialists maintain just the opposite, arguing there are direct studies showing once they are born, babies have the innate ability to recognize their mother's voices and may be further able to respond to familiar music their family played for them while they were nestled in the womb.

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