Words have the power to change, even your unborn child?
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A new study found that a fetus could develop memory of words they heard frequently before they were born. 16 weeks after conception, a baby’s ears begin to stand out from the sides of their heads and the brain begins to understand noises, according to WebMD.
Researchers tested Finnish fetuses by repeating to them a single word “tatata”, which means nothing in the Finnish language. From the 29th week of pregnancy until birth, about half of the 33 women listened to recordings of the word “tatata”, repeated hundreds of times.
After birth, the babies’ brain activity was scanned when they heard the word again. Those who’d heard it before, “showed an enhanced reaction, and were able to process the word better and able to detect changes in the word better, than those who didn’t hear the word in utero” according to study co-author Minna Huotilainen.
“It may sound amazing that babies can recall sounds they heard in the womb, especially considering their brains are still developing the connections that allow them to process anything at all. Still, there are signs that fetuses actually remember sounds they encounter.”
So what do expecting parents do with that kind of information? I’m not sure there are any pregnant women who voluntarily want to listen to the same word several hundred times for a dozen weeks. But I sure never get tired of hearing, “I love you mommy.” What do you want your unborn child to hear?
Reference/Read more about this fascinating study click here.
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