What are Baby Noises Within the Womb?
Babies can hear noises from the outside world while in utero. While the verdict is still out on how much you can influence your child's tastes and interests through things like music, your baby can recognize your voice, and talking to your unborn child or playing music you like can be a rewarding bonding experience.
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Time Frame
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Experts such as Dr. William Sears say a baby can respond to noises from "the outside world" beginning at around the 23rd week of pregnancy.
Music
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Some parents use music as a way to communicate with their unborn child. They may even try to create a little Beatles or Tim McGraw fan--whatever their own tastes sway toward. Research suggests babies show a preference for certain music types, and might even remember music they've heard in the womb, according to Heidi Murkoff, Arlene Eisenberg, and Sandee Hathaway, authors of the book "What to Expect When You're Expecting."
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Parents' Voices
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Doctors say babies can hear their parents' voices from within the womb and are able at birth to recognize and differentiate, for instance, their mother's voice from their father's voice. Murkoff, Eisenberg, and Hathaway write that "research shows that a fetus's heart rate slows in response to its mother's voice," suggesting the baby finds it comforting.
Other Noises
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Babies also are able to hear various outside noises, such as dogs barking. Murkoff, Eisenberg, and Hathaway say a baby who has heard his family's dog barking for months in the womb may not startle at all when he hears it for the first time after birth. Meanwhile, babies who haven't been exposed to the sound may find it scary.
Rewards for You
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Many parents also find trying to communicate with their unborn baby to be a rewarding bonding experience, Murkoff, Eisenberg, and Hathaway write. Even if your child doesn't become a Mozart fan or a famous pianist, you and your partner might feel closer to your baby if you talk to him, or play music for her, leading up to the due date.
Warning
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Murkoff, Eisenberg, and Hathaway warn expectant mothers to avoid extensive periods of very loud music or noise and the resultant vibrations. They say women who work in a place where they are exposed to such loud noises (such as a subway, factory, or nightclub) should seek work elsewhere, or transfer temporarily.
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References
- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Raúl Hernández González
