Music And Your Unborn Child

Does music affect fetal development?

No one knows for sure. There are studies indicating that fetuses can hear and react to sound by moving. But no one really knows what those movements mean, since experts can't observe an unborn baby as easily as they could one who is out of the womb, explains Gordon Shaw, a neuroscientist at the University of California at Irvine. The baby's reaction may be discomfort, he argues.

"There are no studies on the effects of stimulation before birth on intelligence, creativity, or later development," says Janet DiPietro, a developmental psychologist who studies fetal development at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

Can playing music for my baby while she's in the womb make her smarter?
No research supports this conclusion. You may have heard that exposure to music makes kids of all ages smarter in math, but Gordon Shaw, who pioneered this type of research, says these studies focused on older children, not fetuses. For example, piano lessons may enhance children's spatial reasoning skills (the ability to understand three-dimensional space), but researchers only tested 3- and 4-year-olds (see our article on Music and Your Toddler/Preschooler). Some experts surmise that if music has this profound effect on older kids, babies and even fetuses may benefit from it the same way. Not necessarily so, says Shaw.

Others say newborns can recognize music their parents played for them when they were in the womb and even perk up or fall asleep when they hear a familiar song. But DiPietro of Johns Hopkins says these conclusions are purely anecdotal, and aren't based on true research.

Some also say that fetuses breathe in time to music they enjoy. California obstetrician Rene Van de Carr says he's observed a 33-week-old fetus pattern his breathing to the beat of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. Van de Carr, who wrote While You're Expecting...Your Own Prenatal Classroom and teaches parents how to stimulate their unborn babies through music and other exercises at his Prenatal University in Hayward, California, says because the fetus followed the rhythm of the symphony, it's obvious he learned something about the rhythm and enjoyed it. "What reason do we have to think that breathing in time to music is a good thing?" says DiPietro.

How do I play music for my unborn child?
You have two options. You can go clunky (get your Walkman out and stretch the headphones around your belly) or casual (play some music on the stereo as you go about your day). If you go the headphone route, or decide to place a cassette player or speaker near your abdomen, Van de Carr says you should limit it to no more than an hour a day, since the music is up close and may overstimulate the baby. Some experts, such as DiPietro, say you should avoid this method altogether. "People tend to turn up the sounds because they think it needs to be loud to penetrate the abdomen," she explains. "Amniotic fluid is actually a good conductor of sound." (Actually, one study has found that amniotic fluid amplifies low-pitched sounds, like a bass guitar, by a very minimal amount, about 3.7 decibels. But as the pitch gets higher, the fluid dampens the sound.)

If you choose the stereo, don't pump up the volume higher than 70 decibels — about as loud as background music at the store — because that may hurt or startle the baby, says Rosalie Pratt, a professor of music medicine at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. She also recommends classical music. Mozart's symphonies are excellent, says Pratt, because they have the right mix of new sounds and repetition, which she believes babies may enjoy. But, she adds, most anything will do, as long as the music isn't discordant like some of the rap, grunge, or hard rock songs played on today's pop stations.

Animal studies show that constant exposure to chaotic, discordant music negatively alters the brain's structure, says Dr. Pratt. Even plants seem to abhor this type of music. Ivy growing on a home where classical music was played all day long flourished better than that on a house where occupants blasted hard rock.

The bottom line
Because research on this topic is in its infancy and experts can't seem to agree on whether music is enjoyable or bothersome to fetuses, proceed cautiously. If you decide to try it, remember that moderation is key. Even Van de Carr, a proponent of fetal stimulation, agrees. "You shouldn't go out of your way to create a musical genius," he says. That attitude can cause you to push hard and set a standard that your child may never meet.

Play music because you enjoy it, not because you're trying to make your unborn baby smarter. Music can help you relax, fall asleep, or perk you up if you have the pregnancy blahs. "When a woman relaxes, that's good for the fetus and that's an indirect effect of music on the fetus," says DiPietro. You can put on some tunes, kick up your heels, or dance around and have fun.

If, after listening to music all throughout your pregnancy, you happen to give birth to the next Count Basie, so much the better.

source from http://www.babycenter.com