Is it worth trying to stimulate my baby's development before he's born?
Dorothy Einon
Dorothy Einon is an early years play and child development expert.
It depends who you talk to. Some experts say it might be possible because your baby can hear sounds from about 23 weeks of pregnancy. If your baby hears the same sounds after birth that he heard in your uterus, he will recognise them.
For example, if you regularly read The Cat in the Hat to your bump, your baby will recognise the rhythm of the story after birth.
Your baby does more than passively listen in your uterus. He also forms associations with the sounds he hears. After birth, your baby may relax when he hears something that signalled your relaxation, the theme tune to your favourite TV show, for example.
So does this mean your baby would gain if you drew up a timetable of learning experiences for him?
Some experts feel that your baby already has his work cut out, growing and developing inside you. He doesn't need to be exposed to classical music, poetry or intelligent conversation, in the hope of setting taste and advancing language.
The fact is, your baby only knows his environment in your uterus. Naturally, this is entirely different from your world outside. As your baby has no understanding of your world yet, there is very little you can meaningfully do to stimulate him.
Like everyone else, your life follows certain patterns. You can't help but provide your baby with regular stimulation, whether you read The Cat in the Hat every day or not.
You can provide different associations, for example, Mozart with relaxation or a certain poem before you sleep. But these associations don't stretch your baby’s ability to learn. It just alters the associations your baby makes. Neither can you prime your baby for language when there is nothing meaningfully to communicate.
There is little evidence that you can increase your baby's intelligence by stimulating him in your uterus through songs and stories. But there is no harm in it, either.
So your best approach is probably to follow your own feelings. If you feel like talking to your baby as you move around the house or singing to him as you lie in the bath, go ahead. It can only deepen the way you feel about your baby. And that goes for dads-to-be as well.
If it doesn't feel right to talk or read or sing out loud to your bump, that's fine, too. Your baby will hear you, your husband and your friends talking as you go about your day anyway. After your baby is born the two of you can really communicate and will have many years to perfect his conversational skills.
Reviewed by Dr Patrick Chia, a Kuala Lumpur-based consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist specialising in the screening and management of fetal abnormalities and high risk pregnancy care
For example, if you regularly read The Cat in the Hat to your bump, your baby will recognise the rhythm of the story after birth.
Your baby does more than passively listen in your uterus. He also forms associations with the sounds he hears. After birth, your baby may relax when he hears something that signalled your relaxation, the theme tune to your favourite TV show, for example.
So does this mean your baby would gain if you drew up a timetable of learning experiences for him?
Some experts feel that your baby already has his work cut out, growing and developing inside you. He doesn't need to be exposed to classical music, poetry or intelligent conversation, in the hope of setting taste and advancing language.
The fact is, your baby only knows his environment in your uterus. Naturally, this is entirely different from your world outside. As your baby has no understanding of your world yet, there is very little you can meaningfully do to stimulate him.
Like everyone else, your life follows certain patterns. You can't help but provide your baby with regular stimulation, whether you read The Cat in the Hat every day or not.
You can provide different associations, for example, Mozart with relaxation or a certain poem before you sleep. But these associations don't stretch your baby’s ability to learn. It just alters the associations your baby makes. Neither can you prime your baby for language when there is nothing meaningfully to communicate.
There is little evidence that you can increase your baby's intelligence by stimulating him in your uterus through songs and stories. But there is no harm in it, either.
So your best approach is probably to follow your own feelings. If you feel like talking to your baby as you move around the house or singing to him as you lie in the bath, go ahead. It can only deepen the way you feel about your baby. And that goes for dads-to-be as well.
If it doesn't feel right to talk or read or sing out loud to your bump, that's fine, too. Your baby will hear you, your husband and your friends talking as you go about your day anyway. After your baby is born the two of you can really communicate and will have many years to perfect his conversational skills.
Reviewed by Dr Patrick Chia, a Kuala Lumpur-based consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist specialising in the screening and management of fetal abnormalities and high risk pregnancy care
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