Babies and the world of sound

[1 March 2010 - 09h41]
[mis à jour le 2 March 2010 à 09h41]

Children develop a love of sound and rhythm spontaneously.

While still inside their mother’s womb, they find themselves in a universe of noise: the mother’s heartbeat, the rumblings of the digestive system, breathing, etc. Fortunately they have a filter that cuts out sounds that are too low. A baby’s auditory system starts to develop 8 weeks into pregnancy, but it is not until the sixth month that the eardrums are fully formed and the baby is really able to hear properly.

Gradually, a baby’s hearing becomes more refined. Beyond the sound landscape of the mother’s body, the baby will hear muffled sounds from the outside world. And though it doesn’t yet understand the meaning of words, it is already sensitive to intonation. A baby is capable of discerning anger and joy from the modulation of the voice. A baby’s brain registers these variations and this helps to facilitate language learning later on. So don’t be embarrassed to talk to your belly if you are pregnant… and to put some expression into it!

The sound that unborn infants like best is the human voice. Especially their mother’s voice, which is carried via the bones of the vertebral column and the pelvis. It reassures the baby and entertains it. While still in its mother’s womb, a sudden sound will make a foetus jump. And unborn infants enjoy music.

A one-week old infant reacts by closing its eyelids and moving its hands and feet. At the age of 3 months, a baby will turn its head towards a sound source. At the age of 7 months, babies will make a noise with a rattle. Later, they will throw objects on the ground to make a sound. Who knows… perhaps you have a musician on your hands?

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