Sound and Intrauterine Development

Paper Summary:

The usefulness of playing classical music to an unborn child is quickly becoming a matter of debate in scientific circles, as well as in popular culture worldwide. This paper shows how research has established that babies can hear at as early as 23 weeks although it is not as clear whether or not classical or any other music has any positive influence on cognitive or motor development. It also discusses what levels of could be potentially harmful to the fetuses future ability to hear in a post-natal world. It also examines how the counseling ramifications of this debate are of tremendous importance due to the prevalence of mothers who desire to try this particular method of assisting their children's development.

From the Paper:

"It is clear that excessive intrauterine noise can result in newborns with high-frequency hearing loss. The key term here is excessive. Noise levels of less than dangerous amounts have not been shown to be detrimental to the fetus. Nonetheless, it is important to consider these factors when counseling a prospective mother as to the effectiveness of prenatal music stimulation. It may often be that prospective mothers are adamant about utilizing this "Mozart effect" process on the chance that there may be some developmental benefit. When this is the case, it is of extreme importance to educate the mother on responsible use of sound around the unborn child."

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