Change the Wall Color

The thought of it seemed ridiculous. Putting headphones onto my stomach and feeding classical music through my uterus for my unborn child? It seemed like a crazy idea at first, but if there was even the slightest chance that this “Mozart Effect” actually did help the development of my baby’s brain, then I figured why not give it a shot. So, after five months of my pregnancy, when the fetus develops the ability to hear, I became one of “those” pregnant women. I looked through quality home theater systems, and after purchasing one, let the calming melodies of Bach, my personal favorite, resonate throughout the house. And, yes, I even did the whole headphones on the stomach thing. But after a while I was beginning to feel a little silly doing all of this. I mean, was there really a point to this? Does the Mozart Effect really work?

While researching for the potential benefits of listening to classical music while pregnant I came across one major roadblock: there has been no medical evidence to prove that listening to classical music actually improves the intellectual development of the baby. My heart dropped. With all the hype that I’ve heard about the positive effects that this would have on the child, I was expecting some sort of research to back it up. But it seemed as though finding that proof would be fruitless.

I started to feel as though all of those Bach listening sessions had gone to waste. But after doing a little more digging, it seems as though there are some benefits after all. While there is no proof that listening to classical music will actually stimulate the baby’s intellectual development, there is evidence to support that the baby, if exposed to the music enough, will recognize the music after they are born and will often be calmed by the sounds of the music. [Read more...]