How to Talk to a Baby in the Womb?

Does talking to someone who isn’t born yet sound like a paranormal activity? NO! This is backed by evidence that the baby responds to external stimuli such as touch, sound, and even smell. While having a riveting conversation with your unborn child may be challenging, the baby’s ability to receive external stimuli makes it inconsequential. Their senses are heightened, and they have a good idea about the world through you. Everything that you experience is something that they would feel as well because of the physical connection. Read on to learn how to talk to a baby in the womb.

When Can Baby Hear in the Womb?

Babies begin to develop the ability to hear in the womb around 18 weeks of pregnancy, primarily detecting internal noises such as the mother’s heartbeat and digestive system. By 24 weeks, their ears are structurally complete, allowing them to start hearing some external sounds, though these are muffled. By 25 to 26 weeks, their hearing is more refined, and they can respond to louder noises outside the womb (1).

When Can You Talk to Your Baby in the Womb?

Talking to your baby in the womb can begin as soon as you’d like during your pregnancy. While your baby’s ability to hear and respond to sounds develops around the 18th week of pregnancy, many parents start communicating early on by narrating their day, singing, or reading aloud, fostering a bond and potentially aiding development. The timing and manner of communication are personal choices that can contribute to the emotional closeness between parents and their baby even before they meet face-to-face.

Why Talking to Your Baby in the Womb Is a Good Idea?

Here are some reasons that you should talk to your baby.

1. Helps to Stimulate Hearing in the Child

Studies have shown that the development of the ears starts early in the pregnancy, at week 25. Unlike vision, which is poor, as the fetus cannot have access to the outside world, hearing is something that can be developed. The tiny hair that is beginning to grow inside the ears during this time is tuned into the world outside to get stimulated. Avoid exposing yourself to a noisy environment, as sounds over 60 decibels can hamper the baby’s auditory development.

2. Helps in Developing Oral Communication

Would it be unbelievable to think that a baby can remember words that you have frequently used? One study certainly thinks and goes on to say that it can help build communication due to familiarity. This isn’t surprising because learning any language involves a lot of listening. You can even watch television programs in different languages and make them multilingual even before they are born!

3. Helps Your Baby Get Familiar With You

Just because they reside within you doesn’t mean they’ll get to know who you are. You need to communicate with them regularly and share your hopes and fears; they will listen. A study showed that infants could figure out the emotions their moms were going through. Can someone be familiar with the emotional make-up of another without being familiar with them? No, your unborn child is always listening, and communicating early on can help them understand who you are.

4. Helps Establish a Bond With the Baby

Bonding with an unborn baby is not something that you can pick up from any book. You must experience it by talking to them every day. Talking will strengthen the love you already possess and help mentally prepare you to become a parent.

5. Helps Strengthen the Relationship With Your Partner

Spending just a few minutes talking to your baby can also be a relationship-building exercise. Couples who are busy with their daily lives can spend time together. In a relaxing environment, some couples even open up and talk about unresolved issues.

Best Ways to Communicate With Your Baby in the Womb

Here are some of the best ways to communicate with your baby in the womb.

1. Talking

This may seem strange, if not comical. How to talk to your baby in the womb? It’s simple: talk to them like you would to anyone else. You could do something as simple as getting into the habit of wishing them in the morning. If you hear a loud and unpleasant sound, verbally reassure your baby that it is nothing and that they are fine. When you are happy about something, make sure that you let your baby know about it, too, so they can share your joy.

2. Painting

Did you know that painting can be a two-way communication between you and your baby? During your first trimester, get paint supplies, close your eyes and create whatever you want, keeping the baby in mind. Expressing your inner artist is a way to connect with your baby. Now, moving to the third trimester, you can let them paint. Sounds crazy? Well, that’s exactly what six moms from Belgium did! They stuck some paintbrushes to their bellies and allowed the baby’s movements to create paintings. Their unborn babies were so effective that they managed to spread awareness about the risks babies face during birth.

3. Dancing

It might seem odd to think that dancing and pregnancy can be pulled off together, but it can! Express yourself through dance and music, but do it within your limits. It helps reduce anxiety and your happiness while your child picks up dancing. Don’t be surprised if your baby starts dancing back; this footage from a 4D ultrasound has shown just that!

4. Music

Since an unborn child has an acute sense of hearing, why not use it through music? A study has given rise to the ‘The Mozart Effect’ concept. It says that exposing individuals for 10 minutes to classical music can improve their spatial reasoning skills. Exposing your child to the same could be your way of communicating concepts children learn when they’re born (2)! Who thought your child would have their first lessons so early?

5. Flavourful Food

Studies show that when a fetus is around four months old, they have a well-developed sense of taste. This means you can go for dinner with just you and your unborn baby. Get to connect over your favourite foods and try out some exotic but safe foods to have during pregnancy (5).

6. Aromatic Food

The sense of smell and taste are intimately connected, as any foul odour warns us against rotten food. This role of smell is compounded in a fetus that smells the food in the amniotic fluid. A study showed that aromas play a powerful role and even help shape their food habits. You could share some of your favourite sweet-smelling dishes and tell them what you like.

7. Get the Family Involved

You’re their universe, and they rely on you to help them make sense of this world. However, you may not always be there with them, and they would need to learn to trust the people around them. Get your partner involved so that they both get acquainted. If you have a toddler, let them have regular meetings so that they understand who the other is. If you have a dog, they’ve already figured out that you’re pregnant. Let them nuzzle away at your belly so that they can both interact with each other.

8. Baby Shower Introduction

When your due date is near, assemble all your closest friends and relatives and invite them to a baby shower. You could introduce your baby to those who make it during this time. Ask your guests to talk so the baby can hear them and know their voices. Your child will be able to pick up the tone and understand the dynamics you share with other people.

9. Massage Your Belly

Who doesn’t love a good massage? Make a ritual out of it by bringing out the oils and creams at a convenient time to begin the bonding. If you have the time, you could pick out some essential oils that are safe for you and the baby inside you and mix them for aromatherapy. Recruiting your partner to give you a belly massage can make it into a family affair. A study conducted showed that fetuses sometimes reach out to respond to the touches. One of the most extraordinary findings of this study was that the baby could differentiate who was touching the belly. Researchers came to this conclusion because babies respond differently when their mothers, fathers, and strangers touch their stomachs.

10. Yoga

Just because you’re pregnant doesn’t mean that you’re constricted to home. There are other things also that you can do during this phase. For example, you can practise yoga during pregnancy. Yoga is a way where you can declutter your mind from everything else and focus on yourself and your baby. The visualisation exercises you will be doing can help you reconnect with your baby. As they are inside you, you must rely on all your other senses to listen to your baby. When was the last time they pushed against your belly? Have you been giving too much stress to your child? There are plenty of yoga exercises that you can do, such as pregnancy yoga, that are safe for you and the baby.

11. Hypnobirthing

This is a birthing technique that relies on self-hypnosis rather than medication. However, the practice is flexible and allows medical intervention when the pain is unbearable. Stress hormones released by the mother have been known to affect unborn babies. During or before labour, anxiety or fear of the labour process can be a form of unintended communication for the baby to be under stress. Hypnobirthing’s focus is to remove that fear and relax the body. This helps you concentrate on your baby and assure them everything will be okay (4).

12. Reading

Reading books to your baby is another way to communicate with your baby. Try to stick to light and joyful reads that will make you happy. Once in a while, you can also read inspirational books. You can read the books aloud and ask the baby inside you if they understand. Feel free to explain the content if you think it is too complex for your baby. Small talk between reading and reading can help you bond with your baby. You may also ask your partner to read books out loud for you and the baby if you are too tired to read (3).

FAQs

1. Will talking to my baby bump encourage my baby to move?

Yes, talking to your baby bump can encourage your baby to move. When you talk, sing, or make other sounds near your belly, your baby may respond by moving or kicking. This movement can be a way for them to respond to the familiar sound of your voice or other noises they hear regularly. While it’s not guaranteed to make your baby move every time, it can be a delightful way to interact and elicit responses from your baby before birth.

2. What to talk with the baby in the womb?

Talking to your baby while in the womb involves narrating your day, sharing emotions, reading stories, singing songs, playing music, and mentioning family members to establish familiarity and bond before birth. It’s about creating early connections and fostering a sense of security and love.

3. Will talking to my baby in the womb make them smarter?

While there’s no conclusive evidence that prenatal communication directly increases intelligence, talking to your baby can help them become familiar with your voice and the rhythm of language, supporting early language development after birth.

Learning to communicate with someone inside you can initially seem awkward, but once you start, you’ll never stop. This is the closest you will be to your child, so savour every moment with them. Eat, dance, pray, and enjoy life together because life is short. Before you know it, they’ll be going to school, and after a few years, they’ll be adults.

References/Resources:

1. Shu. J; When can my unborn baby hear me? I’d love to be able to read and sing to them.; American Academy of Pediatrics; https://www.healthychildren.org/English/tips-tools/ask-the-pediatrician/Pages/I%E2%80%99m-pregnant-and-would-like-to-sing-to-my-unborn-baby.aspx#

2. How music affects your baby’s brain: Mini Parenting Master Class; UNICEF; https://www.unicef.org/parenting/child-development/how-music-affects-your-babys-brain-class

3. Cline. K. D, Dimmitt. E, Gann. M; Books before birth: a qualitative multiple case study of mothers reading to babies in utero; PubMed; https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35575744/

4. Hypnobirthing: where to start; National Childbirth Trust; https://www.nct.org.uk/labour-birth/getting-ready-for-birth/hypnobirthing-where-start#

5. Mennella. J. A, Jagnow. C. P, Beauchamp. G. K; Prenatal and postnatal flavor learning by human infants; PubMed Central; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1351272/

Also Read:

Do Babies Cry in the Womb?
Do Babies Sleep in the Womb?
Different Positions of Baby in the Womb
Signs of a Healthy and Unhealthy Baby in the Womb
Can You Feel Your Baby’s Heartbeat in Your Stomach during Pregnancy?