Sound can be used to positively affect both mother and child.
Sound affects us in many ways and, when it comes to using it in the field of pregnancy and birth, the benefits can be shared by the mother and the baby at the same time because the sense of hearing is already functioning while still in utero.
Acoustic developmental programming, as it is called by researchers, is something that the embryos of many animal species rely upon. It is an intelligent way that nature has created to help us learn about our environment before we are even born.
For instance, we learn to recognise the voice of our mothers above all others, a fairly important piece of information for a little being who’s going to be totally dependent on that adult for years to come.
I believe that we are also capable of learning the meaning of certain sounds or acoustic environments based on the mother’s reaction to them. If a pregnant woman is relaxed in a certain environment, this will be reflected in one of the body’s main internal communication system: the endocrine system (hormones).
If, on the other hand, a woman is stressed, scared or alarmed by (or while being simultaneously exposed to) certain sounds, the consequent release of stress hormones can create a neurological imprinting on the foetus, signalling 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 are going to be facing?
I have a personal example of this mechanism, although not related to survival.
I was born and raised in Rome, Italy, to Italian parents, and did not travel outside the country until I was in my late twenties. However, I’ve always had a tendency to learn, and subsequently speak, the English language quite easily. I remember being the top of my class in that subject in middle school for, apparently, no reason.
Now, my mother used to work full time at Rome’s international airport, thus having to speak English often during her working hours. Could it be that I ended up picking up on the sound of the language as she went to work while pregnant? To me, that seems to be the only explanation for a tendency that, otherwise, appears to have come out of nowhere. Especially seeing as I haven’t shown a particular talent for other languages.
If the mother to be were to listen to specific music in order to relax and centre herself, it is possible that the child could be born with a positive imprinting towards that same music. There could be an association between the sounds and the hormones related to feelings of peace, calm and safety. So the same music could potentially be used to elicit such feelings in the baby after birth*.
The same goes for lullabies, whose effects are even more profound since they involve the human voice. Certain melodies could be used to communicate a sense of safety to the child while still in the womb, and then later, after birth, they can help the baby resonate with positive feelings.
* Here is an example of music that can be used for this purpose.