When you’re pregnant you want to do all you can for your little one, whether that’s a healthy balanced diet, regular exercise or taking supplements…but can music help baby’s development?
At around your 18-week mark baby will hear their first sounds. 24-weeks they will be more sensitive to them and finally around 24-26 weeks baby will clearly respond to sound. You may notice this as they begin to be more active when hearing certain noises. It’s not unusual to encourage this by talking to baby and playing them some music.
We definitely do not suggest heading into the mosh pit at Glastonbury, but there have been studies to show that exposing baby to music can benefit cognitive development, enhance attention spans and improve sleep patterns (this is in theory of course!) As it is, the womb is a rather noisy place. Baby has a front row seat to your entire body and can hear everything from your stomach digesting, to your heart beating and even when you take a breath. Plus, baby can hear your voice as it vibrates through your body (which is rather magical isn’t it!?) So, don’t think you’re mad when you’re having a conversation with baby, they can actually hear you and become familiar with the voices they hear.
It’s well-known that classical music is the genre for baby. This is because it’s structure is complex, and it can be rather soothing. Composers such as Mozart and Bach are the most popular as they have a melodic and calming lullaby sound. Now if you’re not much of a classical fan, we’d recommend playing music that relaxes baby so they’re not having some kind of 90’s rave in the womb.
You should try keep the volume of sounds to around the same level as a normal conversation. Professionals have said that headphones can be quite loud by the time the sound reaches baby, so try to avoid this. You can also on occasion attend concerts and theatre shows, but avoid long exposure to loud noises.
Putting all warnings aside, music can be wonderful for you, family and baby and you should enjoy a musical filled pregnancy. Plus, you never know…baby could be their generations next pop sensation!
Love from all the team at Window to the Womb xoxo
