In utero, the fetus hears; it is moreover its keenest sense. Pregnant women reporting the reactions of their fetuses to certain voices or noises have always observed it empirically, and science has been interested in this phenomenon since the years 1920-1930, in a rudimentary way then. Since the 80s, many studies have refined our knowledge of fetal hearing. It is now shown that even if the maturation of the inner ear does not end until the eighth month, the fetus “hears” well before and responds to sounds by movements (blinking of the eyelids, startle, extension of the eyelids. arms), changes in heart rate or increased activity in their hearing structures. Thus fetal hearing seems to vary according to gestational age and the characteristics of the sounds emitted, and would begin in humans between the 26th and 28th WA (1).

The maternal voice is perceived most intensely given its proximity and internal vibrations. The fetus is also able to differentiate the voice of its mother from that of foreign women (2). During pregnancy, it appears beneficial to talk to your baby, especially since for several years, the existence of a “fetal auditory memory” has been mentioned: the fetus could memorize its extrauterine acoustic environment. It is difficult to prove it scientifically but this communication in utero could promote the establishment of the mother-child bond, if only on the mother’s side. Talking to her baby in the womb is indeed part of the psychic gestation process allowing the mother-to-be to become a mother, long before her baby is born.

Talking to your baby in utero would also be beneficial for his cognitive development, suggests a study (3) which showed that in premature babies, this habit promotes the development of the auditory cortex and may improve their language skills in the long term.

Male voices – in this case that of the father – are less well perceived by the fetus because they are more serious and partly masked by the background uterine noise (4). But of course, nothing prevents the future dad from talking to his baby if he feels the desire. It can be a way for him to get involved in the pregnancy of his partner and to sketch a bond with the unborn child.

The benefits of music for humans are well known; they would also have them during fetal life, suggest various studies. A study (5) has shown that newborns exposed to Mozart’s music in utero and re-exposed to this music in the birth room were quieter and less agitated.

Prenatal singing, a method of preparing for childbirth based on psychophony, offers among other benefits to establish a relationship with the unborn child via sound vibrations and different songs and lullabies. After birth, this repertoire would be like a “musical cord” allowing this relationship woven with the newborn to continue.

Greek haptein meaning “to touch”, haptonomy or “science of affectivity” uses this sense in order to communicate and forge a link with the baby in the womb. More preparation for parenthood than preparation for childbirth, haptonomy consists of placing the hands on the stomach, moving them, establishing light pressures in order to come into contact with the baby and, via this so-called psychotactile touch, establish the foundations of emotional security. The advantage of this method is that it can – and should – be done with the dad. This triangular relationship – the baby, the mom, the dad – is even at the basis of haptonomy and allows the father to find his place with the baby from pregnancy.

The fetus’ sense of touch is mature from the 3rd month of pregnancy, but it is only around the 4th month that the expectant mother begins to perceive the movements of her baby. So now is the right time to start haptonomy.

Any action of the future mother or the future father to come into contact with the baby, whether it is through the word, the song, the lullabies, the touch, is to be encouraged because it testifies to the will to establish an emotional bond with her baby… provided that it remains natural and is not forced. It is not a question either of overwhelming the fetus with sensory overstimulations, nor of exposing it to sounds of too high an intensity.

In this regard, caution is required with technological gadgets such as headphones to be placed on the stomach, and even a speaker to be placed in the vagina. Technology cannot replace the human voice and all the affect that surrounds it. Furthermore, we have no experience of the potential long-term effects of such auditory stimulation in the fetus.