Did you know that there are ways of testing babies?
Most parents have heard of the Apgar test which measures color, pulse rate, reflex irritability, muscle tone, and breathing. While the test is named after Dr. Virginia Apgar, her name has been formed into a ‘backronym‘ for Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity and Respiration.
There is another test, too, which is much more comprehensive. The Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS or BNAS) is said by some to measure intelligence. It’s not clear exactly what it measures, though. It measures 27 behaviors and 20 responses, including reflexes, stress responses and motor maturity.
With the NBAS, it is possible to compare reactivity of infants between different groups. In a study by Ravindra Arya,, Maya Chansoria, Ramesh Konanki and Dileep K. Tiwari, called Maternal Music Exposure during Pregnancy Influences Neonatal Behaviour: An Open-Label Randomized Controlled Trial the NBAS was used to see comparisons between babies exposed to music in utero and those not specifically exposed.
To avoid complications such as music from older siblings, only first time mothers participated in the experiment. The test group was given a music cassette and told to play the cassette for around an hour each day. The control group was given no musical intervention. Both groups were given standard prenatal medical care.
The music was Garbh Sanskar, which is Indian pregnancy wellness music.
Babies of the women who listened to the music during pregnancy performed better on the NBAS, especially in regard to orientation and habituation.
What is different in this study, when compared to most studies having to do with music exposure during pregnancy, is that in this case, the mother listened to the music with headphones on her ear. It is unclear whether the fetus was able to hear the music.
So the next question is whether the fetus and mom be listening to the same music, or maybe music for moms and music for babies are two different things.
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