It is not possible for a human being to learn certain concepts after birth, amongst these are hearing, intuition, sense of orientation, the relationship space-time... These concepts are governed by the right hemisphere of the brain, and are very important for a more harmonious development of it and thus, of the person. The specific sounds and melodies exclusive to Firstart mainly develop abstract concepts using the auditive sense as a guide.
Until recently, it was thought that the foetus responded to sound from week 24. This number has gradually been reduced as technical advances have improved and have been able to prove this. Latest investigations have found that audition begins in the 14th week of pregnancy, but this will also probably be reduced due to technical advancement, since it is known that the unborn baby does not need all his organs to be completely developed in order to function. For example, the heartbeat begins in the fourth week of gestation even though the heart is merely two small ventricles. Dr. Chamberlain, who is President of the Association for the Pre and Perinatal Psychology and Health, believes that the auditive sense is the sense for communication and learning par excellence. The hearing, therefore, is converted during the whole pregnancy into the most important open channel of communication and learning.
Various scientists point out that the hearing is the organ which most activates
the brain and there are extremely few bodily functions which are unaffected
by musical sounds, this being due to the roots of the auditive nerves being
more widely distributed and possessing more ample connections than other nerves
in the body. In fact, The physicists Wilfred Krüger and Andrew Gladzewski
have demonstrated that the structure of the atom contains proportions and numbers
which are like harmonic principles of musical sounds and that the atoms are
harmonic resonators respectively.
There exists the misapprehension that merely the listening of classical music by the baby or the mother during pregnancy signifies a positive prenatal stimulus; nothing is further from the truth.
The pregnant woman may, indeed, communicate to her unborn baby the emotion and pleasure she feels. But that emotion and pleasure are not always beneficial, sometimes, they are even pernicious.Furthermore, it may be equally pleasant for the pregnant woman, to observ a beautiful picture or a gorgeous landscape, that her usband gives her a bunch of roses or that he is kind to her. The great sensitivity that gestation provokes in women, in general causes, due to the large physiological changes, important psychological changes, leading the pregnant women to take pleasure themselves in sad moments with depressive melodies, sinking into unwished depressions, unknowingly.
In such case, this type of stimuli for the unborn baby is negative.
Likewise, the large number of instruments which comprises a complete orchestra,
that is to say, more than seventy instruments playing together, prevents the
baby from paying attention to a particular acoustic tone of reference. The intrauterine
baby has no capacity (neither are most of the adults) to understand, analyse,
discern and assimilate the diversity of acoustic timbres which exist in an orchestra.
Also, the abrupt changes in sound from soft to loud or very loud, the percussion and the deep sounds which are not intelligible, can be frightening. The inappropriate rhythms or even varied in any one concert because of the slow or accelerated pace as well as other cadences, alter the natural rhythm of the baby; that which is assimilated from the first cell, the mother´s heartbeat. The type of melody which may be too sad, aggresive or depressing, may also, in the same way, be harmful. It is imperative, at the same time, to know the amount of decibels which the baby can stand, that is, the adequate level of sound.
Up to a certain volume, it is pleasant for the growing baby; above this it will be disagreeable and even higher will be completely high-advised, even harmful although the baby will become accustomed after a short while, since he/she needs to adapt.
Various results from studies of pregnant women in hospitals near airports or in particular noisy working environments have shown that although the babies were used to their noisy surroundings, they had been born with low birth weights, there were more babies with congenital defects and there was a great number of miscarriages in comparison to other babies born to mothers who had been in a normal level of noise environment.
The importance of an adequate and positive auditive stimulation during pregnancy
is such that the physical and psychical health of the men and women of tomorrow
depends on it.