Taste and smell and see inside the uterus .. How are the senses of your child?

Farida Ahmed

"Talk until your child hears you and knows your voice." Advice given by many on the ears of pregnant, stressing that the fetus is able to hear the sounds and distinguish the sound of his mother is in her womb, but what about the rest of the senses: smell, taste, touch and vision? Do they form after birth or also inside the uterus? At what age and at what stage? Can the mother develop these abilities and develop these senses?

Researchers at First Tam Pregnancy and Children's Chop at Philadelphia Children's Hospital have revealed that the baby's five senses form and develop very early from the moment of conception, but their senses are maturing at different rates during the course of pregnancy. The stages of pregnancy and after childbirth, they offer a number of tips for the development of those senses:

1- Touch
After only three weeks of pregnancy, and before the woman knows that the fetus dwells in her womb; the first senses, namely touch.

The fetus uses that sense early to know the features of his face and discover what surrounds him inside the uterus, by hitting his face or sucking the thumb and touching the rest of his body and touching the wall of the uterus and umbilical cord.

After birth, specialists recommend permanent and direct contact (Skin to Skin), as this will stimulate the growth of the child, help to breathe naturally and calm and adjust the body temperature and heartbeat, and contact with the skin of the newborn baby has a positive impact on mental and physical health For parents.

A scientific article on Scientific American shows that this will reduce parental stress and lower rates of postpartum depression.

Most of what a newborn baby learns around the world is learned through touch, such as grabbing things, dressing, and hugging.

The baby's sense of touch can be developed by massaging the mother's abdomen during pregnancy, massaging the small body after birth, and making things different (soft, coarse) so he can spot the differences by touch.

2 - smell
The baby learns to smell inside the uterus, so his sense of smell is very strong once he is born.

At the beginning of the seventh month of pregnancy, the fetus is able to recognize and respond to odors through the amniotic fluid that passes through its mouth and nose.

The fetus is aware of the unpleasant odors that his mother inhales, and alienates from the bad food odors that the mother eats.

After birth the child discovers the world around him through smells, and is attracted to the smell of his mother's milk and not others.

Can develop the sense of smell in the child by continuing to offer different scents such as foods, creams and others to identify and distinguish between them.

3 - Taste
By the fourth month of pregnancy, your baby has taste buds similar to adults, and in the last three months, your unborn baby begins to taste some flavors through the amniotic fluid that surrounds her.

Eating habits affect the taste of your fetus, where the fetus tends to sweet foods on salty or sour.

Children who are breastfed may have a varied diet because breast milk changes its taste as the food you eat changes, according to an article in the New York Times.

The taste of the child can be developed by displaying different types of foods and flavors ranging from sweet, bitter, strong and quiet, to maintaining a healthy diet.

4- Hearing
An unborn baby hears a low noise, such as the noise of blood moving through blood vessels, and the mother's heartbeat.

Many mothers find that the baby may kick or jump in response to loud noises and sit down inside her womb with quiet music.

Within twenty weeks of gestation, the fetus distinguishes the mother's voice, and is disturbed by the appalling sounds of dog barking.

After birth, hearing develops fully, newborns respond to loud noises and briefly stop moving when having a conversation with them, but children who do not respond to sounds may have hearing problems.

This sense can be developed by talking a lot with the fetus, hearing quiet music, and after birth that sense is developed by talking to the child in different tones and reading stories to him.

5 - Vision
Sight is the last sensation that develops in the fetus, since during the seven months of pregnancy, eyelids remain closed until the retina grows completely. At about 26 weeks, the baby's eyelids open and begin to flash, distinguishing the light surrounding his mother from inside the uterus.

One month before birth, the fetus follows the light and travels inside the mother's womb according to the bright light outside.

After birth, the baby's eyes are not blurred. Until about three months old, your baby's eye cannot focus on objects more than 25 centimeters from his face, and he sees objects camouflaged gray or black and white only; he cannot see colors.

At the age of six months, your child can see more clearly, move his eyes faster and more accurately to follow moving objects, and improve his visual acuity.
This sense can be developed by providing different color games, playing hide and seek with him, and displaying many images and shapes on it.