Prenatal auditory development: the perspective of prenatal and postnatal stimulation in sensitive periods of child development

Abstract

Certain stimulations in the prenatal and early postnatal period may have irreversible effects on later stages of human cognitive and emotional maturity. The period between conception and birth, and the first thousand days of life are the critical periods for establishing the basic foundations for child development. Recent research showed that the fetal auditory cortex becomes mature in the third trimester of pregnancy, indicating functional fetal hearing in this period. On the other hand, there are research findings indicating to which extent prenatal and early postnatal stimulation may improve cognitive and sensory-motor development, prevent deprivation, and even epigenetic widen the limits of human perception. The paper discusses the role of prenatal auditory development in child development, and also highlighted the positive effects of prenatal and early postnatal stimulation in the improvement of child psychophysiological capacity. In that sense, the paper points to the importance of prenatal and postnatal stimulation which may lead to healthy fetal and child development.