Can the baby hear in the womb? 2026

It is commonly said that babies hear us even when they are still in the womb. They recommend that we talk to them, both mothers and fathers, so that they get used to our voices. It is even recommended that we play calm music for them to listen to and, if we choose a specific piece and repeat it often, the better, so that when they come out they recognize it and it helps them calm down. But what exactly do babies hear inside the belly? Do you hear us? When do they start to hear us? Does the music I play have to be classical music?

Scientific studies reveal that the fetus can perceive sounds coming from the mother or from outside from the 16th week of pregnancy, although the ears do not fully develop until the sixth month of gestation. It's not that they hear clearly what is happening, far from it, because they are inside the uterus, they float in amniotic fluid and that, whether you like it or not, muffles the sound a lot.

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From the moment they begin to hear, babies continually listen to their mother's heartbeat, the palpitation of their arteries and, when they occur, their "gut" noises, their mother's voice and, to a lesser extent, what is happening outside.  It is estimated that the baby receives, more or less, about 20 decibels less than what happens outside. If we enter a nightclub, with the music at about 100 decibels, it will reach about 80, which is equivalent to having a very high-volume music system.

Can you hear me?

This is how it should be, since if a tape recorded with the mother's voice is placed next to the abdomen, the heart rate of the fetus increases, while if the recording is from another woman, it decreases.

But he listens much more, he expresses this by moving in reaction to his mother's heartbeat, intestinal sounds during pregnancy or the passage of blood through the umbilical cord. He is also startled by slamming doors and becomes agitated or calm depending on the music he listens to.

It is thought that he must also perceive the ultrasound noise of the Doppler, since when it is applied, he wakes up and moves. In addition, it has been proven that loud noises from outside, which obviously reach the child muffled by the amniotic fluid, make him react. When they occur, your heart rate changes or you move in circles, extending and contracting your arms and legs, or opening and closing your eyes.

Having said all this, a pioneering study carried out by the Marqués Institute shows that fetuses are only capable of perceiving sound waves if they reach them through the vagina, a more closed receptacle with hardly any soft tissues to absorb sounds. So placing headphones on the mother's womb so that the fetus can listen to music is of little use...

Advisor: Doctor Antonio González, head of Maternity Obstetrics at the La Paz University Hospital.