Can a fetus hear inside the womb?

Medical researchers are always keen to announce a new breakthrough or discovery. Recently, great fanfare was made over the discovery that a human fetus in the womb can actually hear, and can distinguish it's mother's voice. There is still much controversy in the medical field over exactly what a fetus can hear, or how clearly it can distinguish sounds. The question is, why are medical researchers continuing to spend millions of dollars on a subject that was fully researched and documented over fifty years ago?

The discussion continues as to whether parents should talk to their unborn child, and whether they should play music to it. If so, should they play Mozart—or is rap good for a fetus too?

Any concerned parent would want to know exactly what things effect a fetus, and to what degree.

What are the effects on the fetus of a physical accident to a pregnant mother? How does a fetus react to a marital fight? Does it make any difference whether an expecting mother is happy or sad? Should a husband have sexual intercourse with his pregnant wife?

Attempted abortion is not a very nice subject. The truth of the matter is that in these days of lax sexual morals, it probably occurs much more than one realizes. It is a dark secret that many mothers carry with them, hopeful that no one will ever find out.

But what effect would an attempted abortion have on a fetus? Since the fetus has many more perceptions than current science allows, what effect does this have on the life of a baby that survives his mother's attempt to kill him?

The particular breakthrough of a fetus being able to hear has actually been around in published material for over fifty years. In fact, an ancient Jewish religious text mentions that the fetus "may smell the aroma of a certain type of food and desire it."

In his book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, L. Ron Hubbard lays out, amongst other things, the results of his research into the perceptions of a fetus. He documents with actual case studies the effects on a fetus of such things as attempted abortions, sexual intercourse with a pregnant women, loud noises, and even the coughs and sneezes of an expecting mother. He also explains how these things affect a person in later life and what one can do to eradicate or cure any of these ill-effects.

Scientists at the University of Florida recently conducted a series of unique experiments on a pregnant ewe designed to record exactly what sounds reach the fetal ear. They concluded that a fetus can hear, but that as for music, a fetus is "not going to hear the violins, but they will hear the drums."

If this were true, then it would seem that rap music would have more of an effect on a fetus than Mozart. Other research has established that a fetus responds well to Mozart, which would indicate that a fetus actually can hear violins. In fact, research from Queens University in Ontario has shown conclusively that a fetus can distinguish its mother's voice from that of other women. The questions remains—how much can a fetus actually hear? Is it possible that a fetus can hear words and record them?

The University of Florida research, which has received more that $1 million from the Navy, the National Institutes of Health and the March of Dimes, contributed to federal workplace safety guidelines that today limit the duration of extremely loud noise exposure for pregnant women. This is undoubtedly a good thing and the reasons for this are explained in Mr. Hubbard's book.

During his research in the 40's, Mr. Hubbard detailed the fact that a person can recall exact conversations that took place while he was still a fetus in his mother's womb. As incredible as this may seem, it certainly points to the fact that a fetus has much higher and more accurate perceptions than previously supposed. The results of Mr. Hubbard's research have been around since 1950, so why is the health industry still researching a subject that has already been fully documented?

Dianetics:The Modern Science of Mental Health explains very clearly how the mind works, and the effects of life and the mind on the human body. Anyone can buy the book, read it and put it into immediate practice with life-changing results. Dianetics is also available in a new DVD titled Dianetics: A Visual Guidebook to the Mind, which also allows you to find out what Dianetics is and exactly how to use it in under an hour. Visit www.dianetics.org for more information.

Ultimately it is the consumer who ends up paying for the huge cost of research conducted by the medical and mental health professions. One way to reduce these costs might be to look into research already done on the subject.

The health of a fetus during the pre-natal period is obviously of vital importance since it concerns every man, woman and child on this planet. The more accurate information we have available on this subject, the greater our hopes for happier, healthier lives.