Reading: Unborn babies can hear

Many may think it is too early to read to an unborn baby while some may wonder if babies could hear before birth. A new study according to webmb.com shows that a baby in the womb not only hears its mum but may understand her and also learns language from her. Apart from the relaxation […]

Many may think it is too early to read to an unborn baby while some may wonder if babies could hear before birth. A new study according to webmb.com shows that a baby in the womb not only hears its mum but may understand her and also learns language from her.

Apart from the relaxation and bonding felt when sharing reading time with the new life, science shows that reading to baby in the womb helps develop early language learning while participation in reading is also a great way for other family members to connect with the baby.

In small children, reading is proven to help with language development and increased word recognition, create a positive bond between parent and child, provide a great wind-down before bedtime, and spark an early interest in learning that carries over to later years.

 Keying into this discovery, the national library in Kaduna state embarked on an outreach to pregnant women in hospitals and maternity homes, educating them on the importance of reading to their unborn babies.

As part of its annual readership promotion campaign, the library distributed books to expectant mothers to read to their unborn babies.

The objective of the campaign according to the national librarian and chief executive officer of the national library, Professor Lenrie O. Aina was to promote reading beyond sheer utilization and examination purposes; encouraging lifelong reading from womb to grave and sustaining the creation of model reading clubs at both primary and secondary school levels among others.

Professor Lenrie stressed that to sustain a lifelong reading culture, there is need to develop reading interest right from childhood. “The national library is strengthened to pursue this line of action by taking a clue from a renowned writer and child psychologist, M. M. Sabah Karini in one of her works titled: ‘How does reading during pregnancy increase baby’s intelligence?”

 “The book talks about benefits of mothers reading to their unborn children and it makes us to know that reading to the unborn child provides auditory stimulation for the baby’s growing brain and can acclimate children to the sound of their parent’s voices; improve the baby’s cognitive intelligence with a variety of stimuli as well as increases the baby’s intelligence among others,” he explained.

According to him, children who disregard reading hardly think. “Non-readers don’t think; they also hardly take time to examine their challenges albeit solve them. Non-readers hardly critique, they swallow whatever they are told without questioning. A reader is a very critical and highly creative person. Critical and creative thinking generates the love for extensive reading as such love can propel the individual to continually search for information to connect previous experiences with current ones.”

To broaden the campaign strategy, he mentioned that the library will engage the forum of National Youth Corps members to establish reading clubs in their orientation camps and places of primary assignment across the country.

While he described the theme of the campaign ‘Sustaining lifelong reading for positive change’ as apt; he urged parents to help their children create time for reading and also serve as role model to them where reading is concerned.

Also, Professor Zakari Mohammed of the department of library and information science at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria noted that it is worth-while exercise to start reading at the early scholastic stages of the young and youth in school and out of school systems so that they easily and effectively embrace the lifelong change train.

He went further to different reading culture and reading habit, saying one is said to have positive reading culture when he/she is attitudinally engaged in progressive reading continually while one is said to have positive reading habit when he/she has an integrated pattern of reading behavior, practice, ideals, strategy, belief, perception and premonition conceived to be an embodiment of his/her lifestyle.

 “Reading culture and behavior could metamorphose into a lifestyle that could be attractive, impressive admirable and adopted by interested individuals, settings and constituents. Corollarily, viewed within the vantage angle of reading, it can be argued that the art of reading can effectively lead to positive change, development and advancement of not only the individuals involved but the community, society and nation,”

As part of strategies to be employed to promote and sustain reading habit for positive change particularly among adults, he mentioned establishment of reading circles, reading relay among families, organizing ICT literacy programme, promotion and support for library excursions among others.

The professor however identified factors including but not limited to costs and shortages of relevant literature and other information resources, parental literacy background, inappropriate education policy implementation, prevalence of non-functional public and school libraries, influence of computer games among youth and over reliance on radio, television and social media platforms as challenges to sustainable reading culture and habits for positive change.

According to Early Moments, at about six months along, a baby is already quite familiar with the sounds of the womb, from the mother’s heartbeat to digestive sounds while from outside the womb, sounds are extremely clear, although about 10 decibels lower. From week 25 forward, a baby’s primary connection and information to the outside world comes in the form of sound.