The foetus moves its mouth in an exaggerated manner when it hears a human voice. This occurs from the 16th week of pregnancy (with a foetus of 11cm) and only when the voice reaches it through an intravaginal device developed for this purpose. This is one of the conclusions of the study presented by Dr. Álex GarcíaFaura, the Scientific Director of the Institut Marquès, at the 25th European Congress of Perinatal Medicine held in Maastricht (Netherlands).
The study finds that babies hear practically no external noise and only react when sound reaches them through the vagina, which confirms that they hardly hear voices through the mother’s abdomen. Their reactions were studied using Babypod®, a small device that is inserted into the vagina like a tampon and is connected to a mobile phone, enabling the voice of the mother or anyone else to reach the foetus.
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