For centuries, scientists believed that the fetus - safely carried around in the soundproof amniotic sac - was impervious to the sounds of the outside world. But more recently researchers have used heart rate fluctuations to determine that not only can a fetus hear what's going on outside his mom's body, he remembers certain rhythms after birth, and he even shows a preference for certain sounds. Not surprisingly, the sound he loves most is his mother voice, which apparently is broadcast in a stronger form into the womb than other external sounds.

In fact, studies have shown that within the first three days of life, newborns already recognize and prefer hearing their parents' voices over others. Various other studies have shown that newborns prefer the lullabies they heard in utero and recognize children's stories their moms read aloud during pregnancy.

One experiment with premature babies was particularly interesting: It seems that when preemies listened to the sounds of a heartbeat, they slept better, cried less, and gained more weight than a control group.

How clearly a fetus hears external sounds, however, is a subject for debate. While some researchers like Brian Satt, PhD, co-creater of an audio tape, A Day in the Life of the Unborn Baby: Sounds Heard Inside the Womb, believe that a fetus' hearing is crystal clear, others like Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, PhD, co-author of How Babies Talk, asserts that the sounds that reach teh womb are actually quite muffled. "If you dunk your head into a swimming pool and have someone talk to you and there's a bass drummer playing at the edge of the pool, you get a sense of how well a fetus hears."

Hirsh-Pasek, whose upcoming book is titled Einstein Never Used Flashcards: How to Raise Happy, Healthy and Intelligent Children, cautions parents not to try to teach a fetus in the womb. "Newborns do seem to recognize music, lullabies, and children's tories they heard in utero, but that doesn't mean you should recite the ABCs or try to increase their intelligence while they are in the womb," she notes. Instead, Hirsh-Pasek encourages parents to marvel at the fact that a fetus can hear and remember.

* taken from "Motherese" by Colleen Davis Gardephe, Every Baby magazine, Issue Three.

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