Sound can be used to positively influence both mother and child.
Sound affects us in many ways and when it comes to its use in the areas of pregnancy and birth, the benefits can be shared by the mother and the baby at the same time, because hearing is already functioning while still in the womb.
Acoustic development programming, as it is called by researchers, is something that the embryos of many animal species rely on. It is an intelligent way that nature has created to help us learn about our environment before we are even born.
For example, we learn to recognize the voice of our mothers above all others, a rather important piece of information for a tiny creature who will be completely dependent on that adult for years to come.
I believe we are also able to learn the meaning of certain sounds or acoustic environments based on the mother’s response to them. If a pregnant woman is relaxed in a certain environment, this will be reflected in one of the most important internal communication systems of the body: the endocrine system (hormones).
In contrast, if a woman is stressed, scared, or alarmed by (or while simultaneously exposed to) certain sounds, the resulting release of stress hormones can create a neurological imprint on the fetus, signaling that certain sounds mean danger.
Like everything else that nature designs, it is a survival tool. After all, isn’t it better to be born with some clues about what we will face?
I have a personal example of this mechanism, although it is not related to survival.
I was born and raised in Rome, Italy, to Italian parents, and didn’t travel abroad until my late twenties. However, I have always tended to learn and then speak the English language quite easily. I remember being at the top of my class in that subject in high school, apparently for no reason.
Now my mother worked full-time at Rome International Airport, which often required her to speak English during her working hours. Could it be that I heard the sound of the language when she went to work during pregnancy? That seems to me to be the only explanation for a trend that otherwise seems to have arisen out of nowhere. Mainly because I haven’t shown any special talent for other languages.
If the expectant mother were to listen to specific music to relax and center herself, it is possible that the child could be born with a positive imprint toward that same music. There may be a connection between the sounds and the hormones associated with feelings of peace, calmness and safety. So the same music could potentially be used to induce such feelings in the baby after birth*.
The same goes for lullabies, whose effects are even more profound because they involve the human voice. Certain melodies can be used to give the child a sense of security while still in the womb, and later, after birth, they can help the baby resonate positive feelings.
* Here is an example of music that can be used for this purpose.