The last trimester of pregnancy is vital in developing your baby’s senses and growing an everlasting bond between you and baby. Your baby not only starts to know the sound of your voice, but grows a strong bond with your taste and movements.
Many studies have been conducted, surveying the baby’s responsiveness to its mother’s voice. By measuring the baby’s sucking patterns, we can conclude that the baby has familiarity with certain tastes and sounds. When your baby is earth side, the baby will latch on to the familiar which derives from womb experiences.
Relational Connection
The relational connection a mother builds with her newborn starts when the baby is still in the womb. The baby quickly grows attached the sounds, movements, and tastes of mommy. While skin-to-skin post birth is very important in natural childbirth, the natural connection that comes with this skin-to-skin is rooted in your connection pre-earth side. This strong connection has a calming and familiar effect on the baby, usually leading to a better latch on during feeding.
Touch, Play, Discover
Your baby’s natural curiosity and playful nature starts in the womb. There are great birthing classes offered at the birth center that will foster healthy movements for you and your baby. Your baby is naturally playful and curious. While there isn’t much to play with in the womb, your baby will play by sucking on thumbs or toes and by playing with the umbilical cord. Often times, when you’re active your baby will be active.
Language
While a lot of sounds are heard by baby, the most prominent and remembered sound is the sound of your voice. The baby not only hears but also feels your vocals. Your baby will naturally develop an ear for your native tongue. Many languages have particular sounds and rhythms that your baby will become familiar with.
Taste buds
What you eat when you’re pregnant is what your baby eats. Granted, your baby isn’t technically eating the food but babies have been seen licking the uterine wall and placenta. Babies develop taste buds around week fourteen and can particularly taste sweet, sour, and bitter flavors. Some studies show that the flavors of the food you eat while pregnant go through the amniotic fluids and could affect the baby’s taste pallet for life. And since your taste buds are closely tied to your sense of smell, it only makes sense that what you eat also has an effect on your baby’s sense of smell. The smell of what you’ve eaten is also apparent in the amniotic fluid. Your baby will eat and breathe in this liquid while in the womb, again, creating a taste preference for your baby.
While many may think that sensory development doesn’t start until birth, I beg to differ. The time you spend with your baby while they’re in utero is some of the most important development time. When your baby is in the womb, they are developing an important bond with you. Sign up for one of our many birthing classes and foster a healthy womb environment for your baby.