 Learning starts before birth!
What is Prenatal Development?
Your baby’s brain is literally shaped by the stimuli and nutrients received from his environment. While this process starts at conception, many parents only start their child's learning program from the time he is born.
Prenatal development is a process of stimulation that encourages learning; optimising mental and sensory development during pregnancy.
For learning to take place we need to be able to remember and to experience. Learning has been described as the modification of behaviour by experience.
Traditional psychology puts first memories at around three years of age; this is because few people can recall events before this time.
There is however an increasing amount of research indicating that babies can experience and remember from the period before birth, whilst they are in the womb.
When you add this to the known fact that the brain is a network and the links in this network are created by experiences, then it should follow that stimulation during this prenatal period can benefit brain development through increased connections. It is this stimulation that we are calling prenatal development, in fact, the womb has been termed a "pre-natal classroom".
It is difficult to say exactly when your unborn baby becomes aware of his surroundings because it is difficult to tell whether a response to stimuli is purely a reflex or whether it is deliberate.
Although neurons begin forming as early as 14 days gestation (developmental age) an EEG (electroencephalogram) scan can detect brain activity from about 6 weeks gestation.
By 8 weeks gestation (10th week of pregnancy) all of the basic parts of the brain are in place and the first synapses, connections between brain cells, form during the 10th week of gestation. Brain cells continue to be formed into the 5th month of gestation, which is when awareness or conscious thought is considered to start.
However it may occur earlier. As early as the 6th week of gestation the embryo develops reflexes and it is capable of motion and by 10 weeks these show evidence of being deliberate rather than reflex. So it would appear that from this time learning may occur; long before the brain structures are traditionally thought to be developed enough for conscious thought.
There are numerous anecdotal accounts of pre-natal learning and also a growing body of clinical research provides evidence that learning, or memory is present from the second half of pregnancy.
Apart from the accounts of babies being aware of music that they have heard during pregnancy one study has shown that by 26 weeks of gestation a baby had already developed rhythms, annotations and other special features that matched with the mothers voice patterns.
One of the first studies to examine babies before they are born and to suggest that they can remember and learn was carried out by doctors in the Netherlands. Doctors used sound to determine if an unborn baby could react, respond to and recognise a specific noise. In the past, it was thought that babies were born without a functional memory but this study revealed that babies remember sounds they had heard in the womb and recognise them well into later life.
Perhaps some Eastern philosophies were rather more advanced by giving a newborn baby an age of one, rather than zero, to acknowledge that birth is just a milestone in the cycle of life.
It is said in yoga that the soul enters the foetus in the fourth month of pregnancy, and from about the fifth month it is said to begin taking in the experiences from its environment.
Taikyo, prenatal education in the context of mother and baby getting to know each other before birth, has been accepted in Asia for over three thousand years. Baby can ‘feel’ what mother is experiencing and mother communicates with baby through her ‘emotional’ chemicals. Click here
During pregnancy all senses are stimulated in this process of learning:
Sound
Your baby's ears begin to form at around eight weeks and his ears are fully formed by around the 20th week of development. Your baby’s brain will start to show electrical responses to sounds heard outside the womb before 24 weeks of development. Reactive listening can occur at 16 weeks, 8 weeks before the ear is structurally complete because baby is thought to detect sounds as vibrations rather than noise.
One of the most fascinating findings of research is that your baby learns to recognise stories and music he hears in the womb.
Sight
Vision is the last sense to develop. By the 10th week of development, your babies eyes are well-formed, but the connections to the brain and the formation of the visual cortex are not yet present. At this stage he cannot see. As light starts to stimulate the receptors in the back of the eye and send messages to the brain, his visual cortex is laid down. This process starts in the womb.
Although sight cannot be tested in the womb research has shown that the foetus reacts to light.
Whilst in the womb, eyelids remain closed until about the 26th week in order for the retinas to fully develop. At around week 26, the eyes open and even begin to blink.
A degree of vision is obviously developed before birth as premature babies show. At birth a baby's vision is perfectly focused from 8 to 12 inches. They do not have full focusing ability.
Smell
Sense of smell, like all senses, develops gradually. The fetus' nose develops between 11 and 15 weeks as many products and chemical compounds from mother’s diet cross the placenta. The structures needed to experience taste are developed by 14 weeks.
Until recently, scientists believed that the fetus would not have any sense of smell but it is now believed that the amniotic fluid surrounding the fetus passes through the baby's oral and nasal cavities, triggering these senses.
Taste
At around 15 weeks a fetus' taste buds already look like that of a mature adult. The amniotic fluid that surrounds the fetus can smell strongly of curry, cumin, garlic, onion, or other strong tastes from a mother's diet. Studies show that a fetus' swallowing increases when surrounded by sweet tastes and decreases with bitter and sour tastes.
During the last trimester, the fetus is swallowing up to a litre of amniotic fluid a day.
Touch
During the first half of pregnancy, your baby has plenty of space inside the womb. Just before the eighth week of gestation, an embryo develops its first sensitivity to touch and in the later stages of pregnancy when you stroke or pat your abdomen he will sense the stimulus and may quiet down and become alert. He may respond by kicking or reaching out to where he senses the change in pressure and if you touch or pat him when he kicks he may kick again in response.
By 32 weeks, nearly every part of the baby’s body is sensitive to heat, cold, pressure, and pain.
We must also add whilst considering theses senses; emotion, diet and nutrition:
Emotion
Try to relax and enjoy your pregnancy. Your baby can ‘feel’ your emotional status.
During pregnancy your baby can share your emotions or stress through the hormones that you produce and transfer across the placenta. From six months on your growing fetus can share your emotions via the hormones associated with them.
Too much stress or major unresolved crises throughout the pregnancy may lead to emotionally troubled children.
This emotional security ‘blanket’ is also one of the key elements after the birth of your baby. In the first 3 years of life it provides the stability, reassurance and a a sense of security allowing them to explore their environment comfortably. This will lead to the child developing into a confident, more ‘rounded’ person.
Diet and nutrition
It can be seen that many factors can influence the experiences your baby has whilst growing inside you. Diet and nutrition is another key element, which enables these experiences by giving your baby the best environment to grow where all of its nutritional needs are provided for; this is essential for optimum brain development and function in later life. Click here for more information
Why is prenatal development so important?
There are many advocates of a pre-natal stimulation program and many studies are still ongoing, as a result some doctors urge caution.
But what research does show is that fetal brain development can be stimulated while in the womb and it is proven that babies do recognise music or sounds played to them during pregnancy after their birth. It is also undeniable that babies given a sensible stimulatory boost in the womb are born with a number of desirable traits; no adverse effects have yet been reported.
Prenatal stimulated babies have been shown to exhibit enhanced visual, auditory and motor development.
The human brain is made up of cells called neurons that form networks of connections.
By providing an enriched pre-natal environment through additional stimuli, you can encourage the growth and development of your baby’s brain cells (neurons) and they in turn develop more links through stronger synaptic connections. As this stimulation helps to ‘wire up’ these cells you will increase his awareness and level of perception.
One of the major reasons to stimulate before birth and encourage the building of these additional links in the neural network is that at around the 29th week of gestation a natural pruning process occurs in the baby’s brain. This process, which is called apoptosis. It is necessary so that unwanted or unused connections are removed which conserves the neural network. This pruning process will have reduced the number of brain neurons by at least 40 per cent and sometimes as much as 75 per cent during prenatal development; most being lost during the eighth month of pregnancy. Click here for more information
The brain is truly activity dependant- the old adage ‘use it or lose it’ certainly applies here.
By providing a stimulating womb environment for your baby you can minimise this loss of brain cells through pruning; but you must remember to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet that has adequate levels of vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids, have regular rest periods and avoid exposure to alcohol, drugs, smoking and other environmental toxins
A pre-natal enrichment program has many beneficial spin-offs:
- It can help to form a special bond that will bring you closer to your child once he is born
- You will be improving the health of both yourself and your baby by following a balanced diet enriched with vital nutrients needed for brain growth
- You are more likely to succeed in breastfeeding for at least the first 4 to 6 vital months because you understand the importance of giving your baby the best possible start in life
- You are helping increase the strength of the neural pathways linking each brain cell into his neural network
- You will boost the number of brain cells your baby is born with, and the number of connections they make by stimulating your baby’s brain in the womb
- You may reduce his risk of dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, schizophrenia and some forms of epilepsy because of the dietary changes that you make
Most importantly you are likely to boost your baby’s intelligence and you will also lay the foundations for the development of such positive character traits as self-confidence, optimism and a selfless good nature.
This process can be fun and can help you and your family bond closely with the baby who will soon become a new addition to your home. It is reported that parents following these techniques report a closer and stronger bond with their baby.
A pre-learning program can help fathers and siblings establish an affectionate, more understanding relationship with their baby. Click here for more information
What Do You Need to Do? – activities to promote an enriched learning environment for your baby before birth
The aim of these activities is to allow your baby to achieve his full genetic and intellectual potential by giving him the best possible start in life, the best possible environment for his brain to develop, and to increase his chance of acquiring several desirable character traits.
There are many prenatal programs that you can follow, in reality they still boil down to the same basic techniques of prenatal stimulation; the use of sound and touch.
While you can buy devices to help you stimulate your baby in the womb, it is possible to do something similar with no more equipment than is found in the average home.
SOUND
Using voice
This can take the form of very simple activities such as speaking in a normal manner to your unborn baby, telling your favourite nursery rhymes or stories.
You can even sing your favourite songs or tunes, especially repetitive songs and chants. Other members of the family particularly dad-to-be can also speak to your growing baby. You could make a ‘fetal telephone’ to focus the message.
Using music
Play simple tunes or music to your baby, you could even play a musical instrument.
Personal cassette recorders and CD players are available with special speakers that can be attached to a belt around your waist. You can even tape your own music or the voives of other members of your family, perhaps reading stories.
Using touch
Touch should be gentle and rhythmic; try not to startle your baby.
You can massage or stroke for slightly longer periods in the last 6 weeks of pregnancy.
Finally:
Don’t do too much, your baby needs as much sleep and rest as you do, in fact your growing baby can sleep up to 95% of the time, depending on the stage of development. So when you do undertake these activities try not to stress or startle your baby; limit your pre-natal activities, try to keep to a routine with similar activities so that baby will anticipate these periods.
What is very important is the ‘environment’ for pre-natal learning. You should strive to ensure that your fetus has the best environment in which to grow; reduce stress as much as possible, make sure you have a balanced, nutritious diet, which includes essential fatty acids (particularly DHA), avoid alcohol, drugs and smoking.
For more information on:
Essential fatty acids during pregnancy, Click here
The effects of alcohol during pregnancy, Click here
The effects of drugs during pregnancy, Click here
The effects of smoking during pregnancy, Click here
The importance of a balanced diet during pregnancy cannot be stressed enough; it is proven that a baby's birth weight and brain size do depend on the quality of mother’s diet during pregnancy. Click here
For more detailed information on prenatal learning and development, Click here
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