Babies can hear music while they’re in the womb! Find out how music can help your little one’s brain, whether the type of music matters, and more.
Did you know that babies can start to become music buffs even before they're born? Babies can hear music while they’re in the womb! Find out when they start to hear music, how music can help your little one’s brain, whether the type of music matters, and more.
Your little one’s hearing in the womb
Starting at some point in the second trimester of pregnancy – when you’re about 23 weeks along – your little one in the womb starts to hear sounds outside your body. This means they can hear you sing, and they can hear the music you play. And between 24 and 30 weeks of pregnancy, your baby will start to react and respond to the sounds they hear.
Yes, sounds do seem a little muffled to your baby, because they’re surrounded by your body and the amniotic fluid inside the womb. But still, they’ll hear and react to the sounds they’re surrounded by, including music.
Music helps build your baby’s brain
Listening to music can help with baby’s brain development, even before they’re born. Although listening to music in the womb isn’t proven to make baby smarter, it does build baby’s brain through stimulation.
As baby hears different sounds – such as your voice and the music you play – this builds pathways in their brain that help them develop their hearing, memory, and emotions.
During those last few months of pregnancy, baby can also start to get familiar with word patterns and rhymes, including the ones in songs. So, when you sing to baby, play music for them, or talk to them, they’re absorbing both the voices and words they hear.
After they’re born, babies will sometimes show they’re familiar with a song they hear in the womb.
During a 2011 study, babies in the womb heard a melody twice a day over three weeks (the 25th, 26th, and 27th weeks of gestation). Then, after they were born, at one month old, these babies’ heart rates calmed down when they heard the music that they previously heard in the womb.
And in a 2013 study, babies who heard “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” five times a week during the third trimester showed that they remembered the song when it was played shortly after birth – as well as at 4 months of age.
Does the type of music matter?
The type of music that you play for your baby while they’re in the womb doesn’t matter, as all genres of music have the same brain-building effects. So, you don’t have to play classical music, or spend lots of money on classical recordings made for babies that claim to make them smarter.
Instead, play any type of music that you prefer. The genre of music doesn’t really matter as long as you don’t play it too loudly – and you also enjoy it. So, whether you love rock, pop, R&B, or another genre, enjoy your music as your little one grows.
You should also play or sing baby the songs that you plan to sing to them once they’re born, including nursery rhymes and lullabies, as they’ll be likely to remember and love those songs after birth if they’ve heard them often.
Soothing music might have added benefits for both you and your little one, because it relaxes you and lowers your stress. And when your stress is lower, this has positive effects on baby’s brain. Of course, any music you enjoy could lower your stress levels, so what counts as “soothing” music is subjective!
Watch the volume
One word of warning: Don’t play music that’s too loud.
- When playing music for baby, keep music around 50-60 decibels, and no louder than 65 decibels (that’s the volume of a normal conversation).
- If you’re keeping the music on for a long time, 50 decibels and lower is best (think the volume of a quiet conversation).
Also, don’t place headphones, earbuds, or anything that produces sound right on top of your belly for baby to listen to. That’s too loud for your little one. Stick to playing music through speakers or your phone.
It’s fine to attend occasional concerts while you’re pregnant, as the louder volume of the concert is just for a short time and concerts aren’t an everyday thing. Just don’t stand close to the speakers, as that could be too loud for your little one. And don’t go to excessively loud concerts (like heavy metal concerts) after 18 weeks of pregnancy.
Continuing music exposure after baby is born
After baby is born, continue singing to them and playing music for them, in all genres you enjoy. You’ll likely find that baby reacts positively to the songs you’ve sung or played for them while they were in the womb.
Add in new songs too, especially rhyming songs and songs with words that reference things baby can see. Music with lyrics exposes babies to new linguistic sounds, words, ideas, and patterns (like rhythms and rhymes), and helps them with speech and language development.
Babies will often try to imitate the sounds they hear in music as soon as they can.
Think about showing baby picture books that illustrate songs like “Wheels on the Bus” or “Old MacDonald.” And try incorporating motions where you can (like moving baby’s hands to show “up” and “down” when they’re mentioned in lyrics), because this helps your baby’s body and mind work together.
Singing to, and dancing with, your little one also helps you strengthen your bond – and you’re now able to see baby’s reactions. You might see how your lullaby or quiet singing might calm your baby down, or notice how baby loves to hear you sing to them throughout the day. Singing and movement add variety to your interactions, especially now that you’re able to see baby respond, as well as dance and move with baby.
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All health-related content on this website is for informational purposes only and does not create a doctor-patient relationship. Always seek the advice of your own pediatrician in connection with any questions regarding your baby’s health.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
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All health-related content on this website is for informational purposes only and does not create a doctor-patient relationship. Always seek the advice of your own pediatrician in connection with any questions regarding your baby’s health.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If your infant has severe eczema, check with your infant’s healthcare provider before feeding foods containing ground peanuts.