At around 18 weeks of pregnancy, your unborn baby will start being able to hear sounds in your body like your heartbeat. At 27 to 29 weeks (6 to 7 months), they can hear some sounds outside your body too, like your voice. By the time they are full term, they will be able to hear at about the same level as an adult.
Summary: As a fetus grows, it's constantly getting messages from its mother. It's not just hearing her heartbeat and whatever music she might play to her belly; it also gets chemical signals through the placenta. A new study finds that this includes signals about the mother's mental state.
Your baby will hear sounds inside your body, like your heartbeat, between 16 and 22 weeks of pregnancy. And after 23 weeks, your little one will be able to make out your voice, your partner's voice, and other sounds from outside your womb.
Bonding before birth
Your baby can hear you from at least 16 weeks, and perhaps earlier. Babies hear their mother's voices most clearly, but anyone can talk and sing to them – your baby will love to hear from anyone. This helps your baby: to get to know voices, which will help them feel safe and secure.
Researchers have discovered babies as early as 21 weeks gestation show a response to their mother's touch from the outside. In this study, researchers used ultrasound and watched fetal movements and heart rate increase when the belly was rubbed.
But if you don't feel comfortable with the idea, don't worry. While in your womb, your baby will hear and feel the vibrations of your voice every time you speak to anyone. They will have learnt to recognise and be comforted by your voice by the time they're born, even if you don't speak to them directly4.
Just like newborns, fetuses spend most of their time sleeping. Indeed, throughout much of the pregnancy, your baby sleeps 90 to 95% of the day. Some of these hours are spent in deep sleep, some in REM sleep, and some in an indeterminate state—a result of their immature brain.
Hearing milestones during your baby's first year
By around 2 months, most babies get quiet when they hear familiar voices and make vowel sounds like ah or ohh. They also like to listen to their own sounds. Talk to your baby about what you're doing together. Notice how they respond to your voice.
You'll probably want baby to pick up some real words eventually, but it's okay to babble, baby talk or just make crazy noises if you feel the urge. “It's absolutely fine. Remember: Our children are seeping up so much. And part of what they have to seep up is the turn-taking,” Hirsh-Pasek says.
Even during sleep, babies' brains continue to take in and process angry voices. For years now, psychologists have been telling couples who yell at one another to stop for the sake of the kids.
Your baby loves the sound of your voice. So talk, read, sing, and coo away during these first few months. Respond enthusiastically to your baby's sounds and smiles. Tell your baby what they are looking at or doing and what you're doing.
Studies have shown that infants as young as one month-old sense when a parent is depressed or angry and are affected by the parent's mood. Understanding that even infants are affected by adult emotions can help parents do their best in supporting their child's healthy development.
Babies Know When You're Sad Even if You Don't Show It, Study Finds. If you're the type to keep a blank face when things go wrong, baby can see right through you — and even empathize with you — a new study published in the journal Infant Behavior and Development reveals.
Research has shown that, during pregnancy, your baby feels what you feel—and with the same intensity. That means if you're crying, your baby feels the same emotion, as if it's their own. During the gestational period, your baby is preparing themselves for life in the outside world.
Sing nursery rhymes, your favorite songs, the alphabet, or make-up songs on your own. Either way, they'll enjoy it and may recognize the songs once they're born. 2. Listen To Music – Whether you use a pregnancy/prenatal music belt or just play your music loud, you and your baby will enjoy the vibrations together.
It's normal for fetuses to have quiet periods in utero. Sometimes a temporary dip in activity could just mean your baby is sleeping or low on energy because you haven't eaten in a while. However, a long lull in movement could also signal a medical problem like oligohydramnios (low amniotic fluid).
In short, yes: Babies do feel love. Even though it will be quite a while before they're able to verbalize their feelings, they can and do understand emotional attachment. Affection, for example can be felt.
Benefits of emotional health during pregnancy
When you feel happy and calm, it allows your baby to develop in a happy, calm environment. However, emotions like stress and anxiety can increase particular hormones in your body, which can affect your baby's developing body and brain.
At 15 weeks of pregnancy, you are in your second trimester and will start to notice big changes. However, according to some researchers, it isn't until about 21 weeks of pregnancy that your baby may begin to feel sensations when you rub your belly.
The fetus is most vulnerable during the first 12 weeks. During this period of time, all of the major organs and body systems are forming and can be damaged if the fetus is exposed to drugs, infectious agents, radiation, certain medications, tobacco and toxic substances.
Most babies move to a head-down position in the uterus toward the end, with the head on the mother's pubic bone. The lungs are the last major organ to finish developing. When fully mature, they produce a chemical that affects the hormones in your body.