- 1. Touch the belly lightly
- 2. Put headphones on your belly
- 3. Telling stories to the baby
- 4. Doing exercises in the water
- 5. Soak up the sun every day
Stimulating the baby while still in the womb, with music or reading, can promote his cognitive development, since he is already aware of what happens around him, responding to stimuli through the heartbeat, which are calmer, his movements and imitating the suction movement.
In addition, the exercises used to stimulate the baby also help to strengthen the bonds between the mother and the baby, reducing the risk of postpartum depression, for example.
Some ways to stimulate the baby still in the belly are:
1. Touch the belly lightly
Touching the belly during pregnancy is a movement that almost all pregnant women make since the beginning of pregnancy and is usually interpreted as the pregnant woman wanting to give affection to the baby that is growing in her belly.
However, several studies indicate that touch can also be felt by the baby, especially after 8 weeks of gestation, making him feel more relaxed and loved, facilitating his development. Often, the baby can even respond to the touch by moving in the womb or pushing the feet and hands against the belly.
2. Put headphones on your belly
After 25 weeks of pregnancy, the baby's ear is sufficiently developed to be able to hear voices and sounds from the outside of the belly and, for this reason, it is already able to recognize stimuli such as music.
Music usually has a relaxing effect on the baby, as well as helping to understand language, as songs with words, such as children's songs, can help the baby to recognize words more easily after being born.
3. Telling stories to the baby
Like music, telling stories to the baby also helps the baby to recognize words earlier, facilitating the language development process.
Although stories can be told by the father, it is also important to be told by the mother, since it is the mother's voice that the baby recognizes best, as it is the voice that is always closer to the womb throughout the day.
4. Doing exercises in the water
Being in water is one of the simplest ways to relax during pregnancy, as it helps to relieve all the weight and pressure created on the body, making it easier until the mother is able to release all the emotional stress she is feeling.
Releasing stress is very important, not only for the health of the pregnant woman, but also for the baby, since when stress hormones are very high, they can hinder brain development.
5. Soak up the sun every day
Soaking up the sun every day, for at least 20 minutes, helps your baby develop stronger bones and also prevents heart problems. In addition, the sun helps the body to produce more vitamin D, which can prevent the onset of autism.
