First impressions - we begin to pick up words, react to food and coordinate our eyes and hands long before birth / Paris Jaber

Contrary to the opinions that prevailed in the past, newborns are really not a smooth slate, lacking knowledge and experience. Sensory awareness and learning begin already in the womb, as studies in the field of perception of fetuses, which have reawakened to activity, make this clearer than ever before.

Contrary to the opinions that prevailed in the past, newborns are really not a smooth slate, lacking knowledge and experience. Sensory awareness and learning begin already in the womb, as studies in the field of perception of fetuses, which have reawakened to activity, make it clearer than ever before. Imaging devices that produce real-time images and videos made with XNUMXD and XNUMXD ultrasound devices in recent years have revealed much more about physiology and behavior than the vague silhouettes obtained with conventional ultrasound. Non-invasive devices can now also measure electrical activity in the developing brain of fetuses or newborns. The new insights gained through these methods provide a rich portrait of how the fetus uses its brain and senses to learn about itself and the outside world long before it is born. These studies have improved the treatment of premature babies and teach about the benefits of dim lights, quiet, familiar voices and lots of comforting contact with the mother's body.

מגע

Seven weeks after fertilization, embryos already begin to move. As they grow, they shake the umbilical cord, climb the walls of the amniotic sac and insert limbs into the mouth. Most of this activity can be the result of accidental probing, but recent studies in four-dimensional scans show that 24-week-old fetuses already predict the results of these movements, for example, they open their mouth before they bring their hands closer to it. Coordination improves as they grow.

taste and smell

In the 15th week of pregnancy, the taste buds of the fetus are formed. The olfactory cells in the nose begin to work in the 24th week. Studies in the last ten years have shown that newborns prefer tastes and smells that they were used to when they were in the womb, such as garlic, anise and carrots, for example. Other studies from recent years conducted in rats show that the food the mother eats can shape the brain of the fetus in a bad way. Baby rats whose mother is fed junk food, gluttonous in Hebrew, are born with their brains "programmed" to crave this type of food.

Hearing and language

A fetus begins to hear between the 24th and 27th weeks of pregnancy. It has been known for ten years that fetuses learn general characteristics of their native language, such as rhythm and intonation. But two studies done in 2013 confirm that they also pick up distinct words and syllables. Monitoring the brain activity of newborns, in one of these studies, revealed that they recognize words without meaning, with three syllables, which they repeated and sounded in their environment before birth, while newborns who were not exposed to these words remained equal.

vision

Of all the senses, vision develops the slowest. A fetus doesn't open its eyes until the 28th week and researchers are debating what, if anything, it can see. But new facts from animal studies suggest that the filtering of light through the womb is necessary for eye development: mouse embryos that developed in the dark grew too many nerve cells and blood vessels in the eyes that caused the development of harmful pressure.

The article was published with the permission of Scientific American Israel