Nursery World - A Unique Child: The Developing Brain, part 1

In its last few weeks in the womb a baby is already busy learning, says Annette Karmiloff-Smith, in the first of a new series on the developing brain.

The womb is a unique environment that constantly adapts to the changing needs of the developing foetus. But nourishment and physical growth aren't the only purpose of life inside the womb. Interestingly, we used to think of the foetus as passively waiting to be born, floating in the amniotic fluid. Far from it; babies are busy learning, even before birth.

Exciting new research has shown that in the final trimester, the foetus is able to discriminate different auditory stimuli, store them in memory, and subsequently recognise them at birth. These include: a piece of music that the mother listens to repeatedly while pregnant; the timbre of her voice compared with that of other females; the sound patterns of her mother tongue; and even the taste of her favourite foodstuff. Indeed, by the time the foetus reaches six months' gestation, taste buds have developed in its mouth such that it will be sensitive to strong changes in the maternal diet that flavour the amniotic liquid.

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