Babies can hear and see a lot more than you think while they are in the womb. There are endless amazing things that conception, pregnancy, and birth can give. All the efforts of talking to the baby inside and crooning lullabies are not after all in vain.
Your little one inside can detect sounds from outside from the beginning of the second trimester. The voices, noises, music, and other sounds that she hears when in utero help her get adjusted to the environment outside after the birth.
7 Amazing Facts About What Babies Can Hear In The Womb
1. Baby Starts Hearing Around 18 Weeks
The cells in the developing head of the small pea-sized embryo begin to arrange themselves into unique tissues. This will eventually become the brain, face, eyes, ears, and nose. By the end of week 9 after conception, small indents appear on the sides of the neck that will later become cute little ears. All through the first and second trimester, the ears continue to develop, and at week 16 it is likely that they start detecting some sounds.
Some of the sounds like gurgling of the stomach and the air whooshing in and out of your lungs which you might not even notice yourself could be heard by your baby. Research shows that at the end of week 24, babies in the womb even turn their heads in response to voices. They remember voices and music which is just amazing.
2. Baby Can Hear Body Movements
Your baby inside is very active and sensitive to sounds after week 24. They can hear your body movements when you get up, stand, sit, or walk. Even the movement of muscles and cracking of bones could be heard. Are you in a mood to work out? Your little bub inside can hear the muscles moving around. Worried about sounds you make during your bowel movements? Yes, of course, the little one can hear. Are you also wondering about those moans and groans in the bedroom – yup, they hear that too!
3. Baby Can Hear Your Heartbeat
Are you feeling a little stressed and your heart is beating faster? The baby inside can hear the heartbeat. The bond between the mom and the baby happens right when the pregnancy begins. Perhaps the little one inside senses when exactly you are excited or relaxed through your heartbeat. What amazing things your bundle of joy could do just by listening!
4. Baby Can Hear Hungry Tummy
Constantly craving for food? Thanks to those pregnancy hormones which can enhance the cravings. Pregnancy can make you eat random, weird foods. But have you wondered who could hear those hungry gurgling and rumbling sounds in your tummy? You are right, the little bub inside can hear those noises from your tummy. Those rumbling noises echo right around your little one’s developing ears. So the next time when you crave for those pickles and candies, remember your baby can hear it very well.
5. Baby Can Hear The Flow Of Blood
How weird is that? Yes, we know that. But have you ever thought that a flowing blood inside the body has some noise to it? The baby in the womb is well aware of this noise. The pregnant mom’s body pumps a lot of blood which reaches the heart through the veins. The volume of blood pumped during pregnancy is increased by 20-50%. Blood which moves all over the body includes your stomach and surrounding body parts. Veins which run right next to your little wonder inside makes them hear the flow of blood.
6. Baby Can Hear Air Swooshing In And Out
First of all, there are mood swings and emotions to be handled during pregnancy, on top of that breathing could also get hard in the later stages of pregnancy. The pressure in the diaphragm makes it hard to breathe. This leads to a shift and compression of the lungs. Shortness of breath is the common problem of a pregnant woman. When the breathing becomes louder and deeper, the baby inside can hear it clearly. The swooshing of air in and out of the lungs is loud enough for the baby to listen.
7. Baby Can Hear Music
There are a lot of benefits from listening to music. Your baby inside could recognize music very well. The choice between Beethoven and classical music to be played is a big decision you should make to have an impression on your baby’s music taste. Babies recognize tunes and music in utero. Their heart rate changes according to the type of music played. They start to pick up on sounds that surround and expose them. This includes music, voices of people, and other noises as well. Repeated voices or sounds get processed in their developing brain. Babies can recognize their mom and/or dad’s voice. When you read a story to your baby, just know that they get excited to listen to your voice. This is totally cool!
So how does a sound be like to your baby? They are surrounded by the placenta, amniotic fluid, and your flesh. The sounds in utero are muffled but still audible. They might not hear every single word clearly but they do hear muffled voices like when you are underwater.
Always be careful and remember that noise does cause some developmental damage or hearing loss in a growing baby when it’s too loud, prolonged, and repeated.
