Increasing awareness of fetal development may be one factor which has sparked interest in prenatal enrichment among expectant parents. A prenatal enrichment approach includes stimulating the baby in utero through singing, reading and talking, all of which are believed to enhance a baby's intellectual development.
Reading to a baby in the womb may have a positive effect on fetal development, even if not the one intended by advocates of prenatal enrichment.
Reduction of Maternal Stress and Anxiety
An online journal article of the American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that prenatal stress and anxiety is predictive of certain illnesses and the use of antibiotics after birth. This underscores conventional wisdom that pregnant women should make time for rest and activities that promote peace and relaxation.
The developing fetus whose mother enjoys reading aloud during pregnancy likely benefits more from her sense of calm and well-being than from the actual words themselves.
Practicing Bonding Behavior
When a woman reads aloud to her baby in utero, she may relate to him or her more actively and directly while doing so. A positive state of mind during pregnancy may benefit the developing baby. It is common for women to report feeling bonded with their babies during pregnancy. Talking to the baby, whether through reading or speaking aloud, helps to create a sense of the baby as he or she will be after birth. Reading to the baby in utero may help a woman to practice bonding behaviors.
Fetal Perception
A 2008 study from Johns Hopkins University and published on the National Institutes of Health site reports that a fetus responds with beneficial signs in its heart rhythm when a mother experiences induced relaxation. It is unknown how, if at all, a baby in utero benefits from attempts to enrich her through reading, talking and singing.
It is believed that a baby does learn to recognize his mother's voice prenatally. Babies are often observed to track the sound of their mothers' voices shortly after birth.
Source: livestrong.com
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Tags:
Latest Stories
-
How tactless NDC exonerated the Electoral Commission
4 minutes -
Tiger Woods’ son Charlie, 15, hits first hole-in-one
11 minutes -
‘¢25m is just a drop in the ocean’ – WAEC on delayed results
16 minutes -
NPP’s Central Regional Chair, Robert Kutin dead
22 minutes -
Global Football Festival promises football museum and music experience on December 27
25 minutes -
Saudi warnings about market attack suspect were ignored
25 minutes -
Trump threatens to try to regain control of Panama Canal
32 minutes -
Court orders police to determine gender of accused
37 minutes -
Ghana’s gold production to rise marginally by 3% in 2025 – Deloitte
40 minutes -
A man’s suicide leads to clamour around India’s dowry law
41 minutes -
Asante Gold Corporation enters into $500m agreement with Fujairah Holdings LLC
45 minutes -
ECG Power Queens support Ho Female Prison
2 hours -
Don’t appoint a new EC Chair; allow Jean Mensa to work – Prof. Stephen Adei to Mahama
2 hours -
Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong arrives in Ghana for visit
3 hours -
‘It will be disastrous if Mahama removes the Chief Justice’ – Prof. Stephen Adei
3 hours