Much controversy has surrounded the significance of baby early ability to hear. Many parents talk to or play music for their baby, but some experts suggest that these techniques are not particularly useful. It’s the constant beat of the mother’s heart that the baby is most in tune with – the baby’s natural language.

A new study by the Institute for Psychology of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Institute for Logic, Language and Computation of the University of Amsterdam sheds light on what sounds the baby can actually recognize in-utero. The research suggests that spoken words are muffled by the amniotic fluid and music is too complex. Instead, the developing baby is most able to recognize a simple beat. The findings suggest that babies recognize beats as early as three months before birth.

The learning process
The first stage of learning was thought to begin at birth and last until age 2. This latest research, however, confirms that learning – the baby’s ability to perceive and remember beats – actually begins in the womb.

“It is not simply the age of ‘zero to three’ that is so crucial to enrich during a child’s development,” says pediatrician Liz Moore, MD. “It is truly the ‘prenatal to three’ timeframe that is the most ideal opportunity to enrich a child’s environment as it pertains to long-term development.”

The researchers measured the brain signals of two- and three-day old newborns. Basic rock rhythms were played through adhesive earphones worn by the newborns. When the rhythm changed to miss the downbeat, the babies’ brains displayed a response that indicated they had expected to hear the missing beat.

What it means
According to the study, “it appears that the capability of detecting beat in rhythmic sound sequences is already functional at birth.” Simple sounds like those similar to the mother’s heartbeat are easiest for the unborn child to understand, and may possibly be innate.

“Age appropriate rhythm and tones introduce a child to basic perceptual and reasoning principles, such as comparison, contrast, repetition and alternation,” says Moore. “These comprise our first learning. When introduced prenatally, developmental processes are strengthened for the lifetime of the child.”

What expecting parents can do
Lisa Jarrett, mother of seven, is the president of BabyPlus Prenatal, LLC. BabyPlus is an education system that introduces patterns of sound to babies-to-be. BabyPlus developers believe that a baby’s natural language is the maternal heartbeat, and uses similar simple sounds to promote learning while still in the womb.

The BabyPlus curriculum uses sounds resembling a mother’s heartbeat to introduce babies to a learning process. Called “auditory exercise,” BabyPlus claims to “strengthen learning ability during the developmental period when the advantages will be most significant and enduring for a child.” The lessons are designed for two one-hour sessions per day, beginning at around 18 weeks of pregnancy. The BabyPlus system has been available since 1989 – more than 150,000 parents in more than 60 countries have embraced it – and this most current research will like increase the demand for this type of product.

Nonetheless, even if studies suggest that talking and music don’t enhance a baby’s ability to learn, these actions do promote bonding. “Newborns most definitely enjoy and respond to the sounds of familiar voices, particularly those of a parent,” says Jarrett. “They look directly at the voice source, smile, move about and show pleasure when cooed or spoken to. Continue to communicate with your baby-to-be in every language.(taked from : http://makesmartbaby.multiply.com)

Ami Burns

Breastfeeding is the most natural thing in the world, but most moms and babies experience a learning curve in the early days and weeks after birth.  Successfully nursing one baby takes time and support, and if you’re expecting twins, you may be wondering how to get breastfeeding off to a great start. Here are answers to some common questions about nursing multiples.

How do I get started nursing twins?
“Have lots of body contact with the babies and make the breast accessible as much as possible”, says Nancy Mohrbacher, IBCLC, FILCA, co-author of Breastfeeding Made Simple: Seven Natural Laws for Nursing Mothers (www.breastfeedingmadesimple.com) and The Breastfeeding Answer Book. “Typically babies want to feed nearly nonstop for the first few days, which gives them the milk their tiny stomachs can handle while increasing milk production. Having the babies on the mothers body also releases hormones that increase milk production.”

What are the best positions for breastfeeding my babies?
There are many positions to try, and you’ll discover what works best for you and your babies. Mohrbacher says, “A good way to approach positioning during the early days is ‘laid-back breastfeeding.’ The mother leans back far enough so that her babies can lay tummy down on her body with her body supporting the babies’ weight (hospital beds allow mothers to do this easily).  The mother can position the babies at any angle that works for them–lengthwise along her body, perpendicular to her body with their legs on the bed, or anything in between.”

Cheryl H., mother of three in Illinois, “When I was only holding one baby, I generally used a cradle-hold or side-lying. It took me some time to get used to the football hold, but when nursing the twins together, it was easiest to use that hold with a twins nursing pillow,” she explains.

What if my babies need to stay in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)?
Breastmilk is particularly beneficial for premature babies. If your baby is unable to breastfeed for medical reasons, the hospital can provide you with a pump to express milk. Your milk can be given to your baby through a feeding tube if necessary. Your baby’s doctor may also recommend supplementing with formula.

One of Cheryl H’s babies spent a week in the NICU, and was supplemented with formula in addition to the milk Cheryl pumped for him before he was discharged. If you are unable to nurse or express milk for one of your babies, you may want to learn more about feeding her donor milk from a human milk bank through websites like Human Milk Bank at www.hmbana.org. Talk to your doctor about your options so you can decide what’s best for your baby’s particular needs.

Should I nurse my babies at the same time?
“In many cases, mothers breastfeed babies separately at first while they’re learning,” explains Mohrbacher. “However, breastfeeding the babies together is a huge timesaver, so most mothers do this more and more as they get more practice with breastfeeding.”

Where can I find support?
Once your babies are born, if you have questions, concerns, or simply want to be around other nursing moms of multiples, there are many resources available to you. Find out more information about local mothers of twins clubs, new moms groups, or nursing mothers councils. Our pregnancy & Baby message boards are another great place to find support from other breastfeeding mothers. The National Organization of Mothers of Twins Clubs (www.nomotc.org) is another great resource for mothers of twins.

Will I be able to make enough milk for my babies?
“Mothers can make enough milk for triplets, quadruplets and even more,” says Mohrbacher. “Back in the old days, wet nurses were told to limit themselves to six babies at a time! The key is draining the breasts well and often. The more a mother of multiples breastfeeds, the more milk she’ll produce.”

Cheryl H. offers this mom-to-mom wisdom: “Trust your body to be able to provide for the twins.”

taked from : pregnancyandbaby.sheknows.com

Experts say parents and kids need to act early and vigorously to reduce their risk of contracting the H1N1 virus.

“We do know that [the virus] is going to strike the school-age child and it’s primarily because they’re in crowded classrooms with lots of other children and have a better chance of spreading germs,” said Sharon A. Wilkerson, dean and professor of the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Nursing in College Station. “Parents need to pay attention earlier and more urgently. We’re still seeing cases of swine flu and I think we’re going to see an increase with the start of the school year.”

“We’re giving advice with a new conviction,” added Dr. Michael Spigarelli, assistant professor of pediatrics and internal medicine at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. “The common perception is that kids are going to get sick and a certain amount of getting sick is how the immune system builds itself up. We’re saying that this flu season may be potentially worse.”

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 55 million students and 7 million staffers head to the nation’s 130,000 schools each weekday during the school year.

As always, the first line of protection will be good hygiene.

“The main thing is good hand-washing,” said Dr. Stuart E. Beeber, an attending pediatrician with Northern Westchester Hospital in Mt. Kisco, N.Y.

If soap and water aren’t readily available, make sure your child has hand sanitizers in their backpack, along with other school supplies. Washing or sanitizing should take place before every meal and every snack, even if it’s just cookies in the classroom. “We’ve just got to drill that into children,” Wilkerson said.

Finally, “if you cough, cough into your arm or use tissues,” Beeber stressed.

Children who are sick should be kept home, especially if they’re running flu-like symptoms such as high fever, vomiting or diarrhea, Wilkerson said. They should also be kept away from other children. In back-to-school recommendations issued Aug. 7, the CDC advised that schools set aside a room for people developing flu-like symptoms while they wait to go home and that surgical masks be used for ill students or staff and those caring for them.

Any child who has been sick should be fever-free for at least 24 hours (without the aid of medications) before returning to school, Beeber added.

Definitely seek medical care if a child becomes sick, but don’t take children with flu-like symptoms to the emergency department, Wilkerson urged. “That’s the worst thing. They may not have swine flu but they could get it [there],” she said. Instead of rushing to the emergency department, “people need to call their physicians or call a hotline,” Wilkerson said.

Widespread school closures that swept across the United States last spring needn’t be repeated this fall, the CDC has said.

“I don’t think that we’re going to see that panicky reaction,” according to Wilkerson.

But the CDC guidelines noted that everything could change if the outbreak suddenly turns severe. In those cases, the agency said, some schools may need to be closed, and certain precautions — for example, spacing school desks farther apart — might need to be imposed.

Immunization could also be of great help, the experts noted. Children should be vaccinated for the regular, seasonal flu as soon as a vaccine is available, which hopefully will be earlier than the usual October-November time frame.

Trials involving about 2,800 people are also underway for an H1N1 flu vaccine, with officials hoping to have 160 million doses available starting in mid-October. “The vaccine will most likely, at least for children, require two doses separated by about three weeks or more,” CDC director Dr. Thomas R. Frieden told reporters last Friday.

The antiviral drugs Tamiflu and Relenza are also available to help people who come down with influenza but, according to a recent study in the BMJ, they may not prevent complications in children with seasonal flu. This raises the question of whether they would help protect kids from the swine flu, either.

The good news is that the swine flu does not seem to be worsening in severity, even as it winds its way through the Southern Hemisphere.

“We haven’t seen the evidence that it’s the most lethal thing we’ve seen since 1918 [the Spanish flu pandemic],” said Spigarelli. “We haven’t seen it get terribly bad in the Southern Hemisphere. We’re not seeing elementary schools being wiped out because of the swine flu.”
– Amanda Gardner