THE MUSICAL FOETUS
Dr.Susmita Reddy Karri
TNMC and BYL Nair Ch. Hospital, Mumbai
“Change the television channel.” yelled my mom. “You are watching that silly debate on the news channel since an hour. All shouts and no substance! Put on some pleasant music channel so that the little baby in your sister’s tummy can enjoy.”
“MOM” I exclaimed as I rolled my eyes. “Who says that a foetus can hear?”
“Our ancestors say! Our mythology says! Don’t you remember Prahlada’s story? He was an ardent follower of Lord Vishnu even though his parents tried to demotivate him. Do you know why? It is because of Lord Narad’s prenatal divine teachings. The sage sang songs depicting Lord Vishnu’s greatness everyday, which was picked up by Prahlad, while he was in his mother’s womb.”
“I am changing the channel mom.” I smirked.
“If you don’t believe me then check it out on Google. Nowadays, you seem to trust Google more than your mother. Kids these days think……..”
“Okay Mom, for your satisfaction, I’ll check it online.” I proclaimed as I pulled out my laptop.
Some hours later…
“How long will you make love with your laptop girl? Get ready child, we need to get some groceries.”
“I am reading about the effects of music on the developing foetus. Do you know that a child can hear and recognise voices while he is in the womb? Also, research shows that children respond positively to mild and melodious music as compared to the other kinds. Furthermore, music is known to improve the neurological development of a foetus. One study also shows that after birth, if an infant is exposed to the same tune which was played prenatally, the baby would become more alert while it was played. It is also believed that babies start learning a language while in the mother’s womb. Isn’t it amazing mom?”
“Yes, it is indeed amazing dear. You weren’t ready to listen to me before. The new generation…….”
“I will be ready in 5 minutes mom. We need to…..”
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