| Wednesday 24 November 2010 |
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Mariah Carey sings to her belly and you should too
Oh to be in Mariah Carey's belly. The pregnant diva sings to her growing baby bump every day. If only your fetus could be so lucky. Face it, Mom, chances are about one in a million that you'll have the same range as a Grammy winner. But your baby doesn't know you're not a diva. They can have the Mariah Carey pregnancy experience too - personalized just for them.
It turns out some fetuses can begin hearing sounds as early as the 19-week mark and most are responding to sound somewhere between the 30th and 35th weeks of pregnancy. They can even "hear" the ultrasound when you're in for a scan, reacting to the way the waves bounce off of the bone and tissue in your belly. I've known moms who swear their babies jump in their bellies when a car door slams or a fire alarm starts. Can you blame them? I'd jump too.
But it's the voice of the mother that scientists have found a baby responds to most. Yay Mom. Feel free to ignore the scientific explanation - that the sound traveling through the body sounds strongest to babies because it doesn't have as far to go - in telling your partner that the baby likes you best because you're the mama.
Mariah prefers singing to her stomach. She says she's gotten through her entire Merry Christmas II You album already, and she's probably got the right idea. There is limited scientific evidence that music has an impact on the fetus, but doctors question the safety of those little music machines for the belly (and those cute little headphones that stretch over your tummy). So if you're going to start your baby on a pop diet, using your own voice is really the best way to go. (The Stir)
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