When Can Babies Hear in the Womb?

Are you talking to your growing bump, mama?

Reading stories?

Singing lullabies or playing your favorite music?

If you are, you might be wondering: when babies can hear in the womb?

In this article: 📝

When can a fetus hear?

At about 18 weeks, your baby will start to hear sounds that your body makes: your heartbeat, the breath coming in and out of your lungs, and the gurgles of your digestive system.

It's surprisingly noisy in there!

A couple of months later, between 27 and 29 weeks, they’ll be able to hear some of the sounds outside of your body, too, including your voice.

Your baby might start to respond to sounds around this time.

At 27 weeks, one study found, 96% of fetuses responded to fairly low frequencies.

By 35 weeks, they were all responding to slightly higher frequencies as well.

Your baby is surrounded by a lot of amniotic fluid as well as all the layers of your body, so the sounds they hear are quite muffled.

This means that they’ll be able to hear the pitch of your voice, but not specific words; the tone of a song, but not the lyrics.

When can a fetus hear the mother’s voice?

Your voice is the sound your baby will know best by the time they enter the world.

Every time you speak (even if you’re not speaking directly to your baby), your voice reverberates through your bones.

For the little being you’re incubating, this sound will start to become more and more familiar.

By the time you’re in your third trimester, your baby will be able to recognize your voice.

Studies have shown that, when mamas speak, their little one’s heart rate increases, which suggests that they’re more alert (how heart-melting is that!).

Speaking or singing to your baby at this late stage of your pregnancy might help comfort them once they’re born.

When can a fetus hear dad’s voice?

Partners, friends, and family members, don’t worry – your unborn baby, godchild, or grandchild can hear your voice, too.

Babies can hear other voices around the same time they can hear mama’s.

In fact, since babies can hear low-pitched sounds first (below 500 Hz), they might be able to hear men’s voices better than women’s.

The more regularly they hear a voice, the more familiar it’s likely to become.

So friends, family, and birth partners can chat to their heart's content!

When can babies hear music in the womb?

Your baby will be able to hear music from the early stages of your third trimester.

You might have heard rumors that playing classical music can improve your baby’s IQ.

There’s no scientific evidence that this is true, unfortunately, but it won’t harm your little one.

In fact, feel free to introduce them to any music you enjoy, especially if it helps you relax, too.

Research done with sheep fetuses (which, the researchers said, is the animal of choice for pregnancy studies), found that fetuses are more likely to hear heavy bass notes while they’re in the womb.

If you’ve got tickets to a concert, mama, rock on!

The physical barrier of your body, the tissues of your abdomen and uterus filter out most high-frequency sounds. This will help to protect your baby and their hearing.

It’s probably a good idea to avoid noisy environments on an ongoing basis, though.

If you work in a noisy factory, for example, speak to your employer about working somewhere else during your pregnancy.

Talking, reading, singing, and playing music to your little one – while they’re inside and once they’re born – is also a great bonding opportunity.

Enjoy this special time, mama.