The ability to speak and hear language begins before birth.
At 23 days of gestation, a fetus can feel sound and, at around four months, hear.
At twelve weeks the fetus moves spontaneously.
At five months the fetus responds to phonemes (the smallest unit of a word/letter that has sound) it hears through the amniotic fluid, spoken by the mother.
A fetus will respond to music by blinking or moving to the beat.
Dr. Alfred Tomatis, who will be discussed in the next paragraph,
used fiber optic cameras to observe the movement of the fetus in regard to sound.
Though the particular muscle moved varied in each child, each time the same phoneme was sounded, the same muscle responded! This sensory-motor response allows the fetus to begin learning language in utero.
This information suggests that prenatal exposure to music can be used to enhance a baby’s development, and perhaps alleviate or minimize some developmental delays (Campbell, 2000).