Benefits of Listening to Music During Pregnancy

Benefits of Listening to Music During Pregnancy

Music can play an important role in your child's development, even before birth. Between the 20th and 22nd week of pregnancy, fetuses can hear the sounds of their own bodies, such as heartbeats or breathing rhythms, as well as sounds from outside, such as their own voice or music. In addition to communicating and expressing your feelings to your baby, listening to music together can also be beneficial to their development.

In the following oneHOWTO article, you will learn everything you need to know about the benefits of listening to music during pregnancy.

How to play music for your baby in the womb

To play relaxing music for babies, it is best to play the music in a player that fills the environment. There is no sound scientific evidence to support the use of pregnancy belts or other similar commercial devices.

The volume of the music should be normal, it is not necessary to make it so loud that the sound penetrates the walls of the abdomen, since the amniotic fluid is an excellent conductor of sound. Between 50 and 60 decibels are ideal, not only for the baby, but also for us.

Even before your child is born, music can have a significant impact on his or her development. All areas of a child's development are stimulated by music. In the following sections, we will go into more detail about all of these benefits.

What music should I listen to while pregnant?

Any melody that is pleasant and based on gentle and harmonic chords is valid. Logically, the goal of listening to music during pregnancy is to find peace by promoting intimate mother-child bonding, and that can be difficult with a great hard rock or heavy metal song.

In this sense, it is usually considered that the most recommended music during pregnancy is classical music. According to some theories, baroque classical music by composers such as Vivaldi or Mozart would be most suitable, but there isn't enough evidence to support this.

In any case, the best music is the one that makes you feel comfortable and is not too loud. You might enjoy a sweet ballad, an upbeat jazz piece, a blues, a bolero, or a happy nursery rhyme (to familiarize yourself with it), but always at a volume that promotes relaxation and well-being.

Stimulates the heart rate of the baby

It has been proven that listening to melodic songs or classical music calms babies in the womb. The soft, harmonic pieces can alter heart rate, breathing intervals, and emotions, helping to bring comfort and calm to the baby.

The physiological and psychological reaction when listening to music depends on the type and rhythm of the music. For example, heart rate and blood pressure may increase when listening to fast music. Calming, relaxing, and slow music, on the other hand, can lower both heart rate and blood pressure.

When you perceive them, in response, the pumping of the heart slightly accelerates, allowing more oxygen and nutrients to reach the various tissues, favoring the proper development of the future baby.

You may be interested in this other article on safe home remedies for sore throat during pregnancy.

Helps improve hearing of the baby

The perception of the first sounds is only the beginning, because the fact of listening to music will contribute to the 'training' of that sense of hearing and to continue its development process. Therefore, listening to music during pregnancy and putting it on the baby's belly helps the sense of hearing continue to develop as well as possible.

You may be interested in this other article about the best vitamins for pregnancy.

Conveys feelings of well-being

Enjoying a pleasant melody causes pleasant sensations in anyone and the reason is that when listening to it, the brain releases endorphins , the so-called happiness hormones that act as neurotransmitters, bringing a feeling of well-being to the body and mind.

Music stimulates the production and release of endorphins in both mother and fetus, making both feel good and more relaxed . Although there is no scientific evidence, it is said that babies who have listened to music before birth are calmer, sleep and eat better and even cry a little less.

Improves nerve and neural connections

Music promotes neural connections, which supports brain development. Education with music improves brain plasticity and thus learning. Musical stimulation of the fetus before birth can help its brain structure to develop better.

Some recent studies suggest that babies can remember music they heard while still in the womb. As music is a powerful emotion transmitter, listening to the same music after birth, when the period of pregnancy is remembered as a time of security, would have a positive effect on the baby's self-esteem.

This other article about abdominal pain relief during pregnancy may interest you.

Strengthens the mother-child bond

The prenatal bond that is established between the mother and the future baby is important because issues of the baby's future emotional stability depend on it to a great extent. Despite the fact that this relationship between baby and mother is already established at the beginning of pregnancy, it strengthens as the fetus is able to perceive more clearly changes in light and sounds outside the womb. Prenatal stimulation with music helps to strengthen this bond.

Reduces potential pre-birth stress

As labor approaches, listening to music toward the end of pregnancy can be especially helpful. Music can help the mother relax and control any possible anxiety or even fears that may arise from the impending birth. Music can also help you relieve or better manage typical discomfort during the last stage of pregnancy.

We know that stress in the mother can lead to developmental problems in the fetus, and appropriate music is able to reduce this stress.

This article is merely informative, oneHOWTO does not have the authority to prescribe any medical treatments or create a diagnosis. We invite you to visit your doctor if you have any type of condition or pain.

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