The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit has a lot of noise due to machines and constant visitors. Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis did a study on the brain development of babies that stayed in the NICU, where it is loud, compared to babies that lived in private rooms, where there was limited background noise. Their hypothesis was that the babies staying in private rooms would have better brain development, but that proved to be incorrect.
The study showed that the babies living in the NICU had a more mature brain and performed better in language testings years later. The background noise they were exposed to by the constant activity within the NICU promoted brain growth and development.
This study can be supported by what happened in Romanian orphanages; babies were left alone in their cribs with no human interaction or interaction of any kind that they would hit their heads against the bars of the crib to feel something. The lack of interaction and stimulant deprivation affected the babies.
Expecting parents often play music and talk to their growing babies to stimulate brain growth. Interaction while awake, and background noise while asleep stimulate brain development. Overall, babies need to be stimulated to learn and grow. This study done in St. Louis is being taken into consideration by hospital administrators to best treat newborns.
For those of you wanting children, how will this information affect how you raise your baby? Do you think the idea of playing music and talking to a baby while in utero is actually helpful? How would you change the environment of your household with a newborn?
Read the article here
Read the article here
I'm not sure, but I think this same experiment has been done several times before, with the same results. It's sad to hear that babies in Romanian orphanages were left alone, harming themselves just to feel something. Man, the human brain is a strange thing, it's like it has a mind of its own (terrible joke).
ReplyDeleteI have also read studies that show that babies need constant stimulation and similar experiments have been done. It's nice to see that hospitals are taking into consideration the results of these studies when it comes to NICU.
DeleteI like this post! It is proven that playing music for babies while sitting doing nothing in their mom's womb is stimulating for many neurons. This early stimulation make the baby smarter in the future. My mom did that actually, but not purposefully, she played a song all over again for me. Now if I listen to it, (although it is stupid), It feels familiar and awkwardly comforting! I disagree with John, I like babies suffering. I guess they will have to grow up and stop crying like babies! (Better joke). John your joke is okay. LOL. So the take home message here: wake the baby up because sleeping is too mainstream!
ReplyDeleteI never thought about if a baby is exposed to a song while still in utero if they would recognize it later in life. As far as babies suffering, I don't think going to the extreme that those orphanages went is acceptable, but we don't have to acknowledge a babies every cry. My mom recently told me that if I needed something when I was a baby I would have to wait if she was in the middle of something. My younger siblings had the benefit of having an older sister around to help them if mom was busy.
DeleteI definitely don't want kids.
ReplyDeleteI do have a nephew that was constantly hearing loud music while in the womb, and now he seems to love it. He will be 11 months soon and loves hearing music when my sister plays it for him. He tries to move his body to the beat- how many babies can already find the rhythm of the beat at that young of an age?
I think this study completely makes sense that more noise would help with developmental skills. It seems like it is the baby's brain's way of figuring out new things when stimulated.
I find it adorable when babies try to dance to music that is playing, there are so many youtube videos of year old babies or younger toddlers just moving around to music playing. You bring up a point, are babies who were exposed to music while in utero more likely to want to move to music over those who weren't?
DeleteI have always been told not be quiet around babies so they can get use to noise and not be woken up by little noise. Well this is what my parents told me since they put a hair dryer under my car seat so I will get use to noise. This study makes sense, if you surround the baby with noise, they will get use to it and sleep. Since sleeping helps with how you function, getting a good night sleep and not having to wake up with a little noise.
ReplyDeleteI would talk and have my baby listen to music while I will be pregnant I think it will help with the developmental skills of the baby. I would also not say shhh the baby is sleep, and just have a normal noise through the house so they baby can get use to it.
Your parents had the right idea. A baby should get use to the everyday noises and activity that occur around the house. If babies get use to the everyday noise they most likely will not wake up to small noises in the middle of the night or cry to noises they hear while awake.
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