Music for Babies in the Womb: When They Hear, What They Hear, and How to Do It Safely

When Can Your Baby Hear in the Womb?

The sources we reviewed agree that the ears form around the middle of pregnancy, but they do not give exactly the same weeks. A UK health service says your baby can hear you from 16 weeks or earlier, while the CDC says the ears have developed by around week 20 and the fetus starts responding to sounds around week 24.

The difference between sources makes sense: hearing is not the same as responding in a measurable way. That's why it's more prudent to give a range than an exact week. Your obstetrician can tell you what to expect at each checkup.

What Does a Baby Hear Inside the Womb?

Your baby hears a muffled world filled with sounds from the body. According to Healthline, at first they mainly hear the heartbeat, breathing, stomach rumbling, and blood flowing through the umbilical cord. Outside noises are muffled, reduced “by half,” because the uterus is filled with amniotic fluid and surrounded by the mother's body.

The mother's voice is the most important sound: Healthline says that by around the third trimester, the baby can recognize it, with their heart rate increasing when she speaks. The CDC adds that low-frequency sounds travel through the body more easily, which is why it advises avoiding sounds you feel as rumbling or vibration.

• Sounds from the body: heartbeat, breathing, digestion.
• Your voice, which travels through your body and through the air.
• Muffled outside noises: music, conversations, traffic.
• Low-frequency sounds and vibrations travel through more easily than high-frequency sounds.

Do Newborns Recognize What They Heard Before Birth?

There are signs that they do. The NHS says babies recognize familiar sounds and smells from birth, including their mother's voice, and the Essex health service adds that babies learn to recognize and remember their mother's voice during pregnancy.

A study published in PNAS in 2013 by Partanen and his team measured newborns' brain responses. Variations of words were played to fetuses before birth. After birth, the babies who had been exposed showed stronger brain responses to pitch changes in those variations than babies who had not been exposed.

This suggests that your baby's brain registers what they hear before birth. It does not show that this makes them more skilled or smarter later: the study measures a brain response, not their later development.

What Volume Is Safe, and Why Should You Avoid Headphones on Your Belly?

The most prudent approach is to keep the volume low and place nothing directly against your belly. The Essex health service recommends keeping music soft and not placing headphones on your belly because it “will be too loud” for your baby. As a precaution, the same applies to any device resting against your skin.

We did not find an official decibel limit for listening to music at home during pregnancy. There are workplace guidelines: the CDC advises pregnant women to avoid areas above 115 dBA even when wearing hearing protection, and notes that 85 dBA is already dangerous for adults' hearing. Healthline says prolonged noise may be linked to fetal hearing loss, although the effects are not well understood, and that occasional loud events should not be a problem.

• Keep music soft, as if it were background music for a conversation.
• Do not place headphones, speakers, or devices against your belly.
• Avoid loud bass sounds that you feel as vibrations in your body.
• Stay away from very loud or sudden noises, such as being near the stage at a concert.
• If your workplace is noisy, tell your doctor.

If you have questions about concerts, work, or devices, check with your OB-GYN or prenatal care team; they know your situation.

Does Singing to Your Baby in the Womb Help?

Singing to your baby can be a beautiful bonding moment, and we found no reasons to avoid it. The NHS says stroking your belly, singing to your baby, and thinking about their future are good things for your unborn baby. The Essex service adds that other people can sing to your baby too, although your baby will remember your voice best.

You do not need to sing in tune or have a special repertoire. A lullaby, a children's circle song, or a song you like will work equally well. What matters is that you enjoy it and that it is a peaceful moment for both of you.

Once your baby is born, these same songs become part of playtime: you can find more ideas in music for babies ages 0 to 2.

Is It True That Prenatal Music Makes Babies Smarter?

There is no evidence of that. Healthline says there is no evidence that classical music improves a baby's IQ, and that playing it does no harm. The idea comes from the so-called Mozart effect, which was actually tested with college students and was not confirmed for babies; we explain it in the Mozart effect: what it is and what science says.

• “Prenatal music stimulation speeds up development”: this has not been proven.
• “You have to play classical music and nothing else”: there is no evidence that one genre is better.
• “The louder and longer, the better”: on the contrary, it is best to keep the volume low.
• “If I do not play music for my baby, they miss out”: there is no reason to think that; their sound world already includes your voice and your body.

If you want to know what benefits music does offer children, read benefits of music for children, and if you are interested in musical activities once your baby is born, let us know through Música en familia.

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