The Benefits of Reading to Your Baby Before Birth
There is so much to prepare and think about while pregnant. One way to ease your mind, enjoy the experience, and connect with your baby aside from the chaos of planning is to read to your baby before they are born. Below we discuss some of the benefits of this process to help you decide if it’s right for you.
Increased Emotional Bonding
There are many meaningful ways to bond with your baby before they’re born, but one is through reading. This works well for the expecting mother, the baby’s other parent, or the mother’s birth partner. The time spent slowing down, talking to the baby, reading a few books, and just enjoying the moment can open the door to family dreams, future planning, and anticipating the beautiful life ahead.
Soft Intro to Language
While in utero, your baby is undergoing immense work making developmental, molecular, and physical connections. Some significant connections included in the brain are the vital neurons and pathways that form.
They may not understand the sentence structure or the words individually, but reading before they are born is more of a soft intro to language. It can begin the nonverbal development process needed for later language skills. Typically, the earlier they hear simple words and vowels, the better time they will have to grasp these skills when they’re ready.
Establishes a Routine for the Home
Something simple but so necessary is a routine after the baby arrives. This can help provide structure around specific events or activities and give new parents a sense of normalcy when life changes. You may have wishes to read to your baby before bed every night, and you can help establish this habit by practicing while pregnant.
Visit a cozy place in your home with a new book and spend some with massaging your belly, reading, and connecting. Once your baby is here, you will find that this time before bed is peaceful, necessary, and beneficial for everyone.
Allows the Baby’s Other Parent To Participate
Your baby’s other parent or your partner may want to feel more involved in the pregnancy. And this will be challenging on many levels and can sometimes create friction. It’s essential to find external ways to increase the involvement should they choose.
Reading is one of those things that is great for everyone, specifically the other parent or partner. This allows them to have time with the baby, though not alone, without feeling like they can’t participate.
Voice Familiarity
Whoever decides to read to your baby is helping them to build a familiarity with that specific voice. The more consistent you or your partner are in reading and speaking directly to the belly area, the better ability the baby will have to recognize those sounds once born. There is nothing quite as sweet as your baby responding to the sound of your voice by simply recognizing the loving familiarity.
It’s essential to remember that reading to your baby before they are born does not make or break your connection with them or hinder your parenting abilities. These are some of the benefits of this process, but whatever your family finds time for is valuable and important.
