Fetuses and Hearing

We learned in class that babies can barely see once they are out of the womb, but can they hear? Babies can not only hear once outside the womb, but also inside the womb! Around the 24th week of the baby developing inside the womb, it is able to hear very faint sounds like the gurgle of their mother’s stomach and the air in her lungs. The baby can even faintly hear things that are going on in the outside world! However, these sounds are incredibly muffled and are not very clear. The clearest sound to a growing baby is actually their own mother’s voice. This is because when the mother speaks, the sound reverberates in her body and the baby feels this. Babies are able to become comfortable with their mother’s voice while in the womb and can recognize it the easiest when born.

Here is more information about fetal hearing:

http://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/fetal-hearing/