University of Helsinki

Learning in the womb

Marvelling at the newborn baby, one easily forgets that the tiny human being has already been through much in the womb. According to cognitive science, we learn a lot during our prenatal life.

A baby starts using its senses long before its birth cry, and all sensory information that reaches the womb has an effect on the fetus during pregnancy. “In fact, the moment of birth appears to us a more momentous event than it actually is,” says Minna Huotilainen, Docent of Cognitive Science at the Department of Psychology.

During the last trimester, the brain develops much in the same way as it develops over the next eight months. “The fetus learns, and you can teach it sounds, smells, tastes and associations.”

Sounds travel particularly well into the womb. According to Huotilainen, the newborn baby finds security in the familiar sounds of its home, the bark of the family dog or the ring tones of the mother’s mobile phone. “Melodies and rhymes that were often repeated during pregnancy are a kind of bridge over birth for the baby.”

Other sensory experiences can also be comforting in their familiarity. Aromas pass from the mother’s blood to the amniotic fluid, so that the baby recognises, not only the mother’s smell, but also foods that are frequently eaten. “For example, the baby smells more garlic from the mother’s blood than one might think. The fetus also senses the mother’s bodily pose, and the mother’s stress hormones pass into the uterus,” Huotilainen says.

The smell of tea equals relaxation

If combinations of different sensory perceptions recur, they create moods which the fetus learns to recognise and starts responding to.

“The smells of the gym and workout music signify a raised heartbeat, strenuous movements and action, whereas the signature tune of a soap series combined with the smell of tea and feet up on a stool signify relaxation: a calm heartbeat and stillness. The brain does not have to be fully developed for learning to occur,” says Huotilainen.

The fetus and the newborn baby both possess a so-called lizard brain, which operates according to its own special logic. One of the main limitations of the lizard brain’s functions of associative and recognition memory is that the memories they have created are no longer accessible to us as adults. “The memories are inaccessible, but they affect us nevertheless. They can be traced in adults; however, they have an even greater impact on what kind of baby the fetus develops into.”

For example, prenatal experiences can have an effect on whether the baby is interested in foreign languages, exotic tastes, music and moving to music. To the chagrin of parents who would like to teach and train the unborn baby, the mechanism is not as simple as the constant sound of music automatically leading to a love of music. And it is no use trying to teach the baby French words.

“The fetus associates sensory stimuli with the pregnant mother’s reaction to them. If the ringing of the phone irritates the pregnant mother, the newborn baby coming home from maternity hospital will probably burst out crying when the phone rings. If, on the other hand, the mother loves gossiping over the phone, the ringing will be a pleasant signal to the baby.”

A new and frightening visual world

“However, the baby’s ‘learning’ is not permanent,” Huotilainen points out. The memories fade within the first few weeks or months of life, if they are not reinforced after birth. Birth is also the start of a new, difficult and even frightening path of learning. The baby’s world is flooded with unprecedented visual and tactile sensations, which are no longer cushioned by the waters of the womb.

“When the ecstatic parents furnish the nursery for their baby, they incorporate frills and wallpaper decorated with teddies, they forget that visual stimuli are a totally alien form of communication to the baby,” Huotilainen says.

A comforting exception in the utterly strange visual world is the human face. The image of the face has been programmed into the baby’s brain. “The baby starts looking for the image with its eyes as early as the first few hours of its life. The face of a talking or singing person is the most interesting thing the baby knows.”

Virve Pohjanpalo

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