Music Aids Development in the Womb
By Gabriel F. Federico, M.T., Buenos Aires, Argentina*
(Translated by Giselle Whitwell)At the moment of birth babies have already accumulated a host of experiences and memories shared with their mothers (and fathers). Together, they enjoyed both pleasant and unpleasant sensations. If we think about rhythm and its different manifestations in utero, we can find it expressed in several ways. Rhythm exists in the spontaneous movements of the fetus, in intrauterine breathing movements, heart rate, sucking and kicking, in states of alertness and quiet, and partly in reaction to what is heard, for example the mother's heart, breathing variations, and activities.
Fetal Audition
The shape of the human ear is a metaphor for the design and shape of the human embryo. The fetus receives sound information from the outer regions of the mother through its own auditory system. With support from touch, taste, and smell, hearing plays a prominent role in connecting us to the outside world while we are in the womb. Hearing is naturally complex and stimulation varies when the fetus changes positions in the uterus. Both sound vibrations and perceptions change. If liquid is a different conductor of sound than bone medium, will not this also demand changes in intrauterine hearing? In an eight-month-old fetus in the cephalic (head) position, there will be much more sound from bone conduction. Sound vibration will also be affected by the location of the hipbones of the mother. This cavity will augment, by a chain of vibrations, the responses of the small bones of the middle ear of the fetus. At this gestational stage the fetal middle ear is already full size.
Similarly, fetuses that are in the breech position will receive more intense intrauterine sound. This is the result of the proximity of their auditory system to the sounds of the mother's heartbeat, as well as the circulatory sounds of the placenta, among other noises and sounds. In the breech position, the vibratory conduction is more muffled and will need a higher volume so the fetus could equally sense it, as compared to the fetus in the cephalic position.
Prenatal Brain Stimulation
We have to think that the intrauterine environment of the fetus is deeply affecting personality development. It is known that at the moment of birth the newborn baby has nearly all the neurons needed for life. Thus, the womb is the place where the brain develops and begins working. This stimulation takes place with the exchange of experiences between the fetus and the environment in which it is immersed. The development of the brain will be enhanced if we can offer the appropriate stimuli for this to happen. It will depend much on the quality of what the mother will transmit to her baby whether the imprinting will be made in a positive or negative way.
An example of what a mother could transmit to her unborn child follows. One day, I had an appointment with a 10-month-old baby, a constantly crying child. Nothing seemed to help him. The parents tried all means to quiet him down, including the music of Mozart. Herein lay the real meaning of the crying! The mother, at a later appointment, reflecting on her pregnancy, had used the music of Mozart to relax during the last months of her pregnancy. However, during this same period, two months before the baby's birth, her own father had died in a car accident! Consequently, the baby had been nourished with the mother's anguish and associated the music of Mozart with this sad situation.
The mother thought she was "relaxing" but in reality, while she was listening to Mozart, she was crying about the death of her father. Unconsciously she was internalizing her anguish, and not wanting to share it with anybody else. Though without realizing it, she was sharing this experience with her unborn child. As time went by, the mother recovered from her loss but this type of music had left its mark on her baby. This was the reason that whenever he heard Mozart, he cried. I taught the parents how to work with their baby. Slowly he started to quiet down but he continued to be much affected by the music of Mozart as well as being very sensitive to all types of music.
Hearing at Birth
At birth, the sound environment impacts the neurovegetative system. The baby has to make a great effort to adapt to this extra-uterine sound. From birth the bombardment of the sound environment continues to grow. If babies who were prenatally stimulated hear familiar music, they usually turn their heads in the direction where the music is coming from. Such babies can change their facial expressions while listening to these rhythmic sound variations, perhaps even smile and increase their sucking. Their pupils might dilate and eyes begin to stare for 4 to 10 seconds. They will stretch their small fingers and toes, trying to catch the stimulus. Cardiac rate will probably slow down a bit and breathing become more regular.
These babies will not necessarily respond to repetitive sounds, but will probably respond to sounds with melodious variations. They will be able to distinguish the intensity, tone, and pitch of sounds and be more alert and sensitive when this stimulus is present. The abdomen will relax. Their crying will not convey misery but be more like the very small sounds of a kitten. They will recognize voices, especially mother's.
If we must take into account all these manifestations of sound, we will naturally organize the first extra-uterine month of life in a special way. This first month of life is characterized by adaptation, not only by the new mother but by her baby. They continue to bond, know, and understand each other in a different way than before. We have to sympathize that babies must adapt to the new environment of the hospital. After this environment a new one will be presented, the family home. Home is, of course, where baby and mother made their original adjustment to each other, but now this is complicated by expanded physical sensations and the potential for interactions with others. These new adaptations are eased if babies have the opportunity to spend ample time with the mother alone.
In this new period at home we can observe the advantages of the previous prenatal stimulation. Music will help to organize this developmental stage also. If we play as background music what was played during the pregnancy, while the baby is resting (but not sleeping), these melodies will recall intrauterine listening, giving a feeling of security and trust. It is suggested not to sing the same song while feeding and bathing, lest the different feelings be confused. It is possible that one night if babies hear the same song they will be unable to interpret if this means they will be fed or bathed!
The Birth of My Son Nicholas
As with any new life, Nicolas brought lots of happiness to all his family members especially to his parents and brother Matías. His delivery was very beautiful and fast, with only three pushes. He was placed between us in the hospital room. During his birth I was with Natalia, my wife, holding her and speaking to her tummy to help her. I believe that the presence of the father during delivery is very important. Babies are conceived by two people and these same two people need to be there to receive them during their birth. We did not make use of an epidural, which helped Natalia to have a faster recovery.
In the delivery room we were hearing music and doing relaxation exercises. Right at the moment of birth I was helping Natalia, giving her strength. When the baby's little head appeared, he immediately opened his eyes. What was amazing is that he did not cry, he made some soft sounds and moved his little arms, all without crying. The first image he saw was that of his mother and father together. Obviously, we started talking and singing to him. Fortunately, our desire was respected to be the only ones speaking during labor and delivery.
As it happened, during the birth of Nicolas there were three other births taking place simultaneously, and for this reason we were left with only a nurse to weigh, clean and measure the baby, while Natalia expelled the placenta. This was an unforgettable experience. I felt a very close contact in the exchanges with my baby through our eyes and in the way he responded to my voice, as I sang to him all the time.
Nicolas was stimulated with music during his gestation and we were able to have many different prenatal experiences. We could appreciate the results even before our baby was one month old. One of the prenatal experiences we designed was the use of a pair of small, fine quality loud speakers that were placed on Natalia's tummy. We played different kinds of music on a varied day/evening schedule. For example, I used Bach's music every morning while waking up, used different selections when Natalia was going to sleep, and still other pieces for our prenatal stimulation exercises.
Our baby responded from the very first moment of life to all the music we had used, but particularly to the music heard during the relaxation exercises; these pieces soothed him the most. I think this is so because it brings back memories of this time when we always sang this music together. Also, it was the music I used during the labor and was the first heard immediately after birth. When we played Bach, the music for awakening, we found that Nicolas would be very alert, would open his eyes and look for the source where the sounds were coming from. We saw a very special effect with the music played when Natalia was getting ready to sleep. This music had a pleasant relaxing effect on Nicolas; I believe it is because Natalia's body was so relaxed when she was falling asleep. When the baby is uncomfortable now we play this music which helps him relax and he goes to sleep easily. An important thing we realized is how the music facilitated the family's adaptation and preparation for the arrival of Nicolas.
After the first month of life the music for getting him to sleep was no longer needed, neither was the music to regulate the hours for breastfeeding or to keep him alert. Today, seven months after having stimulated our son in this way, we enjoy his presence very much. From the first month after birth, Nicolas has slept between ten to twelve hours, which has permitted us to get our rest and therefore enjoy family life much more. He continues growing without any problems and is fed in the most natural way at the breast of his mother.
Bibliography
Federico, Gabriel (May, 1999). Musicoterapia y embarazo. II Jornadas de conceptualización de la practica clínica musicoterapéutica.
Federico, Gabriel (1999). Music therapy & pregnancy: Prenatal stimulation. Paper presented to the 26th Canadian Conference of Music Therapy, Vancouver (May).
Fridman, Ruth (1996). ¿Hay inteligencia antes de nacer? Revista Brasileira de Musicoterapia, Number 1.
Gardner, S. L., Garland, K., Merenstein, S. L. & Merenstein, G. B.(1993). The neonate and the environment: Impact on development. In Merenstein, G. B. & Gardner, S. L. (Eds.), Handbook of neonatal intensive care, (chap. 27). St. Louis: Mosby.
Hib, Jose (1988). Embriología médica. Buenos Aires: El Ateneo.
Ludington-Hoe, S. & Golant, S.(1993). How to have a smarter baby. New York: Rawson Associates.
Martinez, Jorge, C. (1993). El bebe prematuro y sus padres. Buenos Aires: Lidium.
Martinez, Jorge C. (1996). Avances y redescubrimientos en la asistencia del recién nacido. Buenos Aires: Cesarini.
Matras, Jean-Jacques (1988). El sonido. Buenos Aires: Hispamerica.
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Tomatis, Alfred. (1987). El oído y el lenguaje. Buenos Aires: Orbis España.
* To contact the author via email: mami.sounds@ba.net
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