The impact of talking and singing to your baby in the womb
At 28 weeks, your baby’s ears are already developed enough to hear sounds from outside the womb. You may even feel your baby move or kick when you talk, listen to music, or hear a loud noise like a car horn. Of all the sounds they experience, your voice is the most deeply familiar, because they hear and feel it at the same time.
Babies tested just days after birth had a preference for their mother’s voice over other voices and could tell the difference between sounds from their native language and sounds from a foreign language. Once your baby arrives, talking to them is one of the most important things you can do for their development—and it’s also a great source of comfort ❤️
So should you talk to your baby now? For some parents, talking and reading to their baby in utero feels cozy and natural. If that’s you or your partner, then certainly keep doing it. But if talking to your belly feels forced, it’s okay to skip it. Your daily activities are already providing all of the auditory stimulation your baby needs.
Should you play music for them? There’s no evidence that classical music has cognitive benefits for babies, though that was once widely believed. But if you play or sing the same song to your baby throughout your third trimester, they may find comfort in the familiarity after birth. Research shows that newborns can remember melodies that they heard repeatedly in the womb.
Learn more about the research
Benedetta, M. (2023) Prenatal experience with language shapes the brain. Science Advances, 9(47)
DeCasper, A., and Fifer, W. (1980) Of human bonding: Newborns prefer their mothers’ voices. Science 208.4448: 1174-1176.
Moon, C. (2012) Language experienced in utero affects vowel perception after birth: a two-country study. Acta Paediatrica, August 2012
Partanan, E. (2013) Prenatal Music Exposure Induces Long-Term Neural Effects.
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