29 September, 2000 UK
Babies 'can learn' in the womb
Babies are able to learn and remember while still in the womb,
according to a study. Doctors in the Netherlands used sound to
determine if an unborn baby could react, respond to and recognise a
specific noise.
They found that while a foetus moved when they first heard the sound,
they later became used to it and did not react.
According to the doctors, this showed the foetuses were able to
remember the sound and "learn" it was harmless.
The doctors carried out a study on 25 unborn babies between 37 and 40
weeks old.
They applied an acoustic sound to the womb and directed it above the
unborn babies leg. Each of the foetuses reacted.
They determined whether the unborn baby had "learnt" not to react to
the sound if their body no longer moved, after four consecutive
sounds.
They applied consecutive sounds at three different intervals;
initially, 10 minutes later and 24 hours later.
'Became used to sound'
Six of the foetuses were excluded from the study because of irregular
movements in response to the sound.
The remaining babies all "became used to" or habituated to the sound
and did not react soon after it was initially applied.
They stopped reacting to the sound more quickly when it was reapplied
after 10 minutes and similarly 24 hours later.
Dr Cathelijne van Heteren from University Hospital Maastricht said the
study showed foetuses had both short and long-term memories.
"Compared with the initial habituation test, foetuses not only
habituated more rapidly 10 minutes later but also after 24 hours.
"We therefore conclude that foetuses have a short term memory of at
least 10 minutes and a long-term memory of at least 24 hours."
She added: "Foetuses are able to memorise the stimuli in utero,
although they may need more than one stimulus to establish
recognition."
In the past, it was thought that babies were born without a functional
memory.
Previous studies suggested that they could remember but these were
only undertaken after the baby was born.
This is one of the first studies to examine babies before they are
born and to suggest that they can remember and learn.
The study is published in the medical journal The Lancet.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/947001.stm