Music is Powerful Medicine: Babies and Parents Know Why: with Birth Expert Penny Simkin
Music is Powerful Medicine
Parents’ Singing to Fetus and Newborn Enhances Their Well-being, Parent-Infant Attachment, & Soothability: Part One
I’ve said for many years now that I am a mother’s biggest fan. Birth and mothering are not just dear to my heart – they determine the future of our world. I am a mother of three boys, and as an enthusiastic supporter of mother-centered birth, I was happy to see this article by birth veteran and expert, physical therapist Penny Simkin.
Here’s an excerpt:
Regular contributor Penny Simkin shares her experiences with parents who sing to their baby in utero and then continue after birth and looks at what the research says about this practice in this two part blog piece. Part two will run on Thursday. Join me in reading about some unique situations that Penny shares as she explores this opportunity for parents to bond with their unborn child. – Sharon Muza, Science & Sensibility Community Manager.
_________________
People have sung to their babies forever. Every culture has lullabies and children’s songs that are passed down through the generations. New ones are written and shared and the custom goes on –a rich part of the fabric of human civilization. These songs are designed to relax babies, calm their fears, or entertain and amuse them throughout childhood. As we have learned more about the life and capabilities of the fetus, we have realized that the fetus can hear clearly for months before birth, and also can discriminate sounds and develop preferences for some sounds over others. Furthermore, at birth, newborns respond to familiar sounds by becoming calm and orienting toward the source of the sound, and even indicate their preferences for familiar voices and words over the unfamiliar.
Read the full post from Science & Sensibility: A Research Blog About Healthy Pregnancy, Birth & Beyond
from Lamaze International
Don’t miss Part Two!
