Sounds and noises play an important role in the growing child’s brain development when you’re pregnant. But can sounds and noises be used to alter the child’s brain development during a mother’s pregnancy? Yes. Studies show that modifying the intensity of the sound and noise can help alter the unborn baby’s brain development. So, the next time you are rude to your pregnant wife or have a heated argument, remember that your unborn baby is making note of it all.
Your baby develops hearing aid in the 22 or 23rd week of pregnancy. This means your baby can not only hear but comprehend and understand it like a newborn would. Research proves that babies can retain the memories of particluar sounds they heard when they were still in utero.
A study was carried out recently by a group of researchers from the University Of Helsinki in Finland. The study involved exposing pregnant women to certain sounds. After these women gave birth to their children, they were brought back to the facility and were made to listen to the same sounds once again. On observation and study, it was known that the babies minds reacted to the sounds the same way it did when they inside the mother’s womb.
“If we know better how language develops very early, we may one day be able to develop interventions for babies with abnormal development”, said the lead author of the research paper published by the University of Helsinki. In the study, researchers played various sounds such as ‘tatata’ or ‘tatota’ in different pitches from the 29th week of pregnancy up until the mother gave birth. Later, these newborns were brought back and made to listen to the same sounds they heard when they were in utero. The sound waves generated had a strong reaction on the babies’ brains when compared to babies who were not exposed any such sounds in utero.
Though this is one single study with a comparatively small group of women, it is a given fact that babies are able to hear and comprehend sounds while they’re still in the mother’s belly. This information begs for questions and makes us wonder if it is possible to develop an unborn baby’s language while s/he is in utero. This finding also brings the question of what kind of sounds create a positive reaction and what kind induce a negative reaction the unborn baby’s brain. Is it possible to avoid mental illnesses such as schizophrenia by exposing the unborn baby to certain sounds?
There are many studies where the development of plants was observed with sound waves as an impact factor. The same plants were kept in different rooms, given access to the same soil, sunlight, and water sources. However, the music playing in each room was different and one room had no music at all. Dr. TC Singh, head of the botany department at India’s Annamalai University, carried out a similar experiment on several plants in the year 1962. The results he deduced showed that “balsam plants grew at a rate that accelerated by 20% in height and 72% in biomass when exposed to music.”
If sound and music can have a positive effect on the growth and development of plants, the impact of these sound waves on fetuses can only be unimaginable. Sounds and noises can be used to alter a child’s brain development and growth when the baby is still in utero. Though there are many studies and researches yet to be done to obtain a more specific and conclusive result, it is evident that sound does, in fact, play a major role in brain development.
