Unborn Baby's Emotions Be Affected? Willke & Term Paper

Total Length: 549 words ( 2 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 3

Page 1 of 2

unborn baby's emotions be affected?

Willke & Willke state that nervous tissue in embryos is "open" to communication made possible by neurotransmitters. They further suggest that this makes it possible for the mother's emotional state to "affect the unborn almost from conception onward." Additionally, it can sense discord between parents, fear, hostility, grief and anger. It's also, apparently, capable of feeling anger itself, according to Willke & Willke, because the grandson of Sigmund Freud "once saw unborn twins fighting." Hopson suggests that the fetus is calmed by the sound of its mother's voice because its heart rate has been observed slowing when she speaks.

Which factor of prenatal development is suggested to have more impact on IQ than genes?

Hopson states that "the environment of the womb" may have more impact on IQ than genes. What was De Casper's discovery on fetal primitive learning?

De Casper's most significant discovery on fetal primitive learning found that a baby prefers its mother's voice to a stranger's.
He discovered this by allowing the baby to pick which sounds it heard by sucking on a feeding device faster to hear a mother's voice and slower to hear a stranger's voice. This discovery suggests that the baby had, in utero, formed learning capacities and so doing had a memory of its mother's voice from its time in the womb. He also found that babies prefer stories they heard in the womb. Generally, De Casper's discovery suggests that fetuses like "the comfort and reassurance of the familiar."

Explain fetal development:

At one week, implantation occurs. The mother's menstruation period stops at ten days. The heartbeat begins at 18….....

Need Help Writing Your Essay?