Enhancing brain development: The crucial role of in-utero stimulation

Human baby as a foetus lives and nourishes in the microcosmic world the mother creates in the womb. Much like mother earth for all living beings, the baby in the womb relies on this mystical environment created by the mother for not only nutrition and physical growth but also mental and emotional development.

Thus, the nutrition and dietary needs of expecting mothers assumes greater significance and the importance of emotional and mental wellbeing cannot be overstated.

A lot gets spoken about physical growth of the baby, weight gain, organ development and structural abnormalities but equally important sensory development of the foetus is seldom discussed.

The child from this early stage which starts in utero to 2 years of postnatal age is very important for learning from a good environment which will help in attaining ideal developmental miles as per age.

Let us explore more details about the different sensations that a baby will start feeling at different stages of growth inside the womb and how we can enhance them.

First one we will talk about is touch. The baby can start feeling touch as early as 11weeks of gestation, they use their mouth, hands and feet to feel touch through the amniotic fluid and once they grow bigger by touching the uterine wall with arms and feet. They are tuned to the mother’s movement and physical activity which will in-turn cause movement inside uterine wall to which the baby comes in contact with.

They can respond to your pats, strokes, and gentle pressure. stroking your hand over the stomach while talking in a soothing way can promote touch.

Hearing starts about 18weeks of gestation, the baby’s hearing is nearly fully developed by 26-28weeks. initially they can hear low frequency sounds slowly it matures by birth.

They initially can hear mother’s heart beats, stomach rumbling, and slowly start hearing you talk, and they gradually start to differentiate between different sounds. The baby can perceive and start associating mother’s happiness, sadness or anxiousness with various sounds and touch. You can even start to feel they are getting excited or comforted by it after 30weeks of gestation and they associate these feelings with the mother.

Both Parents should start talking to the baby in different frequencies, sing songs, rhymes, shlokas, try reading short stories with voice fluctuation and try to attach a different sensation like touch at different times of the day. This will help the child to create a better

bond with mother and father and the same auditory input can be used post birth to calm or soothe the baby which will be easy adjustment for the child.

Vision is the last sensation to develop and continues to develop after birth. At around 28weeks they can open their eyes but they are capable of perceiving light in the womb much before that hence, it is important to get physical activity outdoors like a walk where they are indirectly getting exposed to the sunlight.

Taste develops by third month of gestation. The developed taste buds start understanding flavour indirectly through amniotic fluid. researchers claim that they taste the food through the amniotic fluid that the mother eats and this determines to some extent their preferences after birth.

Smell starts by 28weeks of gestation. babies react to familiar smells as soon as they are born. They can start moving head and neck around 10weeks of gestation, hands and feet after 18weeks when they start kicking, wriggling beyond this which slowly strengthens bones and muscle development occurs.

So now we know how the sensory development happens and how we can start early stimulation from womb itself to promote the brain development.

(The writer is a Consultant Developmental &

Behavioural Pediatrician Apollo Cradle & Children’s Hospital, Kondapur)