Sing to your bump: lullabies to babies in the womb decrease crying when they are born

Last fall, a few Babymoon staffers were lucky enough to attend a day-long seminar with Penny Simkin, renowned author, physical therapist, childbirth educator and doula. The day was chock-full of knowledge and “Penny-isms,” including Penny’s long-time insistence that parents-to-be sing to their babies in utero.

As usual, Penny was spot on with her advice, as new research from the University of Milan suggests that babies who are sung to in the womb will cry less during the newborn period.   Author Henry Bodkin, summarized the study in the Telegraph:

A study of 160 women found that those who sang lullabies both during pregnancy and after giving birth had babies who spent significantly shorter periods crying. Around 170 pregnant women were split between those who were told to sing lullabies in the months immediately before and after birth and those who were not.

The babies in the singing group generally cried 18.5 per cent of the time compared to 28.2 per cent of the time in the group who were not sung to.  Meanwhile for those with colic – excessive or frequent crying where there is no ill health – the babies who had enjoyed prenatal lullabies tended to cry for about a quarter of the time.

So let’s get singing! What songs will you serenade your your little one with before he or she arrives?