The claim that prenatal exposure to music has beneficial effects for a child’s cognitive development seems plausible enough. After all, the notion that cows that listen to Lou Reed and REM give better milk has been proven scientifically. (However, you have to be careful: cows that listen to Bananarama are better off chewing their cud in silence.)
Institut Marqués, a Barcelona-based fertility center has introduced Babypod / Music in Baby S.L.U. a clever way to provide music to an unborn fetus that bypasses the “soft tissues” that “absorb and scatter sound”: namely, you stick a speaker into the vagina.
The device is called Babypod and you can acquire one for a mere £91.51 (at current exchange rates, that’s US$98.67). It comes with a cute pink case and has auxiliary earphones so that you can listen along with your unborn child.
There is an app that goes along with the system but it’s only available on Google Play. The website says that “the first list is free,” which suggests that the end user is encouraged to pay for music lists generated by Institut Marqués. It’s unclear whether you can use the system to play your fetus your favorite NoMeansNo cuts.
Here’s the translated narration text from the company’s promotional video, which for your convenience is embedded below:
Music stimulates the baby before birth, this is a scientific fact.
But, how to convey the musical stimulus?
In the same way that we cannot hear what is going on inside, the baby cannot hear what is happening outside. This is also a fact.
The soft tissues absorb and scatter sound.
Only from within we can stimulate the baby; 3D ultrasound scans demonstrate this.
Once your child can hear the music, the baby’s brain receives a stimulus that provokes and encourages a response.
The miracle of phonation starts prematurely, key to cognitive development, look how the baby sticks out its tongue.
And you can’t wait to talk to your child, to tell your baby how much you love him, and see how he reacts.
What if you could start now? Give your baby a universal stimulus. Send him a message from before birth, and make sure it reaches your child.
The Babypod folks claim that the device “stimulates the vocalization of babies before birth through music and encourages their neural development,” although these seem difficult prospects to prove conclusively. The developers claim that after studying hundreds of ultrasound scans, most babies are found to react with body, mouth and tongue movements when listening to music through the device.
via Factmag
Previously on Dangerous Minds:
‘Shape of a Angel’: 3D-printed replica of your fetus
Yes, this really exists: ‘Tell Your Cat You’re Pregnant’