Our research page
is updated regularly with results and published articles...
Times Colonist - Saturday, December 18th, 2010- For Newborns, Mum Really is the Word: Study
Newborn babies respond differently when their mother is talking, activating a part of the brain that controls language learning, according to a study by researchers at Université de Montréal.
Read about this experiment with Mothers and Newborns: http://www.timescolonist.com/life/newborns
Medical News Today, Thursday, October 22nd, 2009- Impact Of Stress On Male Fertility
Highlighted By Fetal Study - Exposure to a combination
of excess stress hormones and chemicals while in the womb could affect
a man's fertility in later life, a study suggests. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/
BBC News - Tuesday, 2 December 2008:
Pop tunes 'used to calm babies'
Rocking a baby to sleep has been given a whole new meaning as mothers
ditch traditional lullabies for popular pop and rock tunes. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7760186.stm
A QUICK GLANCE at some of the pioneers of sound
and prenatal music research:
Alfred Tomatis
For pregnancies, Alfred Tomatis saw no limits to how sound can help us
even when we're still forming in the womb. Since his early ground
breaking research, the science behind prenatal development is growing,
and many other researchers have contributed to this field. Dr. Alfred
Tomatis, a pioneer in sound therapy research conducted throughout the
20th century discovered that prenatal sounds form an important
developmental component in prenatal life because of their proven
ability to facilitate a neurological foundation for learning and
behavior (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Tomatis).
Gissele Whitwell
Some more information points to the stages of prenatal development and
how the sensory functions begin to form. In her paper, The
Importance of Prenatal Sound and Music, Gissele makes a
convincing assessment using factual data: The ear first appears in the
3rd week of gestation and it becomes functional by the 16th week. The
fetus begins listening by the 24th week. The cochlear structures of the
ear appear to function by the 20th week and mature synapses have been
found between the 24th and 28th weeks. See the data and more in Gissele
Whitwell's paper, The Importance of Prenatal Sound and Music (http://www.birthpsychology.com/lifebefore/soundindex.html).
Gabriel F. Federico In his article Music Aids Development in the Whomb, Gabriel F. Frederico describes how auditory
inputs to the whomb are an integral part of the growing sensory
environment throughout the prenatal stages.
Gabriel says,
"We have to think that the intrauterine
environment of the fetus is deeply affecting personality development.
It is known that at the moment of birth the newborn baby has nearly all
the neurons needed for life."
