It has often been advised to the expectant mothers to listen to music as it helps them to relax. But resent studies have shown that playing music to the baby is the womb is equally beneficial for the unborn. Around the second month of pregnancy the ultrasound clearly shows the eyes, nose and ears of the little one. And by the fifth month, the fetus’ hearing abilities are fully developed as by this time it starts recognizing the patterns of its mother’s voice. It is during this time that prenatal stimulation through music is encouraged.
What Is Prenatal Stimulation Through Music
Literally prenatal stimulation denotes the use of stimuli in order to communicate with the baby in the womb. In this case, that stimulus is music.
While in the womb, the baby learns to recognize the different patterns of sound, the rhythms and the beats. So when a music piece is played repeatedly every day, the fetus starts responding to it.
How Should The Music Be Played For The Unborn
There are generally two options in playing the music to the unborn. One is by stretching the headphones around the belly. The alternative way is playing it on the stereo.
What Kind Of Music Should Be Played
Though there is no hard and fast rule regarding the genre of music that can be played to the baby in the womb, it is always advisable to stick to soothing, rhythmic and repetitive music. Classical music like that of Beethoven, Mozart, and Handel are generally taken to be the best options.
Religious chants are also a good choice. Other peppier options can be pop or soft rock. It is better to avoid heavy metal stuff as they tend to have abrupt changes in beats and volume and this may startle the child.
Effects Of Such Stimulation
It has been widely agreed that stimulation through music has a very calming effect on the child. After birth when the child listens to the same music, they feel relaxed due to the familiarity of the sounds. Thus it helps to soothe a fussy toddler. Such babies normally turn out to be very peaceful and calm.
Many believe that playing music to the child in the womb makes it smarter, though there are no research evidences to certify that. But some studies have shown that babies who have been stimulated while in womb exhibit advanced visual, auditory, motor and language development skills.
Points To Remember
Many think that because the music has to pass through the abdomen to reach the fetus, it should be played on a higher volume. This is not the case as the amniotic fluids in the womb are good sound conductors and amplify the sound manifold. Hence the volume should never go beyond 70 decibels and it should be even lower in case of headphones.
Overstimulation is never a good thing. Hence music directed at the abdomen shouldn’t extend for more than an hour. However background music can be played for a longer time.
