Unborn Babies Respond More To Their Mum’s Touch Than To Her Voice, Say Experts

Most pregnant women rub their baby bump throughout pregnancy, whether absentmindedly or not. And it could have more of a positive effect than anyone previously thought.

Researchers have discovered that fetuses actually respond more to their mum’s touch than to her voice, according to a study published in PLoS ONE.

Researchers at the University of Dundee looked at 23 women who were between 21 and 33 weeks pregnant. All of the mums-to-be were monitored completing three separate conditions – voice, touch and control – to see how the baby responded to each.

The women read a story to their baby, rubbed and stroked their stomachs and laid down silently with their hands by their sides for the ‘control’ condition.

The researchers noted that the ‘touch’ stimulus was not direct contact, but instead “indirect stimulation of the fetus via stroking the abdomen applying slight pressure.”

Experts have previously suggested that babies appear to recognise their mums voice when they’re born, but this is the first time that how well an unborn baby responds to touch has been successfully monitored.

In this study, not only did the fetuses respond more to their mum’s touch than they did her voice, the babies who were nearer full term showed more movement than the younger ones – despite the fact that older fetuses usually move less because of their growing size.

“Overall results suggest that maternal touch of the abdomen was a powerful stimulus, producing a range of fetal behavioural responses,” wrote the researchers in their notes.

“Fetuses displayed more arm, head, and mouth movements when the mother touched her abdomen as compared to maternal voice in situ.

“In summary, the results from this study suggest that fetuses selectively respond to external stimulation earlier than previously reported, fetuses actively regulate their behaviours as a response to the external stimulation, and that fetal maturation affects the emergence of such differential responses to the environment.”

The researchers concluded by noting that their findings may suggest that fetuses are trying to communicate with their mums, dads and other family members – but further research needs to be done to determine why the unborn babies respond in such a way.

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