Can we use music to stimulate the development of the foetus?

The human sense of hearing develops well before birth. The foetus in the womb can hear the rhythms of the mother’s body, for example, but also many other sound. Opinion is divided over whether music can be used to stimulate the development of the foetus.

Even at the moment of birth, a baby can recognize its mother’s voice. During the preceding nine months, the mother brought her food comfort and security. After birth, the sound, intonation and tone of the mother’s voice, which the baby learn to recognize in the womb, becomes a means of orientation.

Today, it is well known how human hearing develops. The process begins in the fourth week after the egg has been fertilized, when the foetus’s nervous system. Spinal cord and brain are formed. By the 20^th week, the foetus can react to sounds coming from outside the womb. Five weeks later, the outer and the inner ear, as well as those sections of the brain which help with the processing of acoustic signals, have matured to greater degree. It is this point that the foetus can recognize the pitch of various voices. During this time, he or she learns to distinguish the mother’s voice from that of the father.

By the 35^th week of pregnancy, the growing foetus child can perceive and memorize melodies. This is evident by the child’s obvious reaction after birth when certain melodies are played that he or she often heard during this phase.

Can this development of the senses be used to the child’s advantage? Some parents to be try to encourage the child’s development by gently drumming rhythms on the belly or by playing classical music in particular, the music of Mozart. While it may be soothing most scientists doubt whether this promotes the musical development of the child. There is plenty of time for this after birth.