Pregnancy and music: your baby already knows the world! How does loud noise affect pregnancy?

Nature has endowed us with the ability to perceive sounds whose frequencies are in the range from 16 to 20 thousand Hz (hertz). The higher the vibration frequency, the higher the sound seems to us. But does this mean that "super high" and "super low" sounds that we do not hear do not affect our body in any way? Of course not.

Infrasound - quiet, yes dashing

Sounds that are inaudible to us include, among others, infrasound. This is a normal sound, but its frequency is less than 16 Hz. Infrasound is contained in the noise of the atmosphere and the sea, in the earth's crust - during earthquakes and various vibrations. Its sources are the flow of moving vehicles, the engines of modern aircraft, fluorescent lamps, and much more. Objectively measure the level of infrasound is possible only with the help of special equipment. But you can also make sure of its negative impact on the body on your own feelings.

Infrasound is able to propagate over very long distances and penetrate deep into the tissues of the body. Therefore, it can rightfully be attributed to those sounds that we do not hear with the ear, but “hear” with the whole body. What troubles can infrasound penetrate the body?

Rhythms characteristic of most systems of the human body are in the infrasonic range from 0 to 16 Hz: heart and spine - 4-6 Hz, stomach - 2-3 Hz, intestines - 2-4 Hz, kidneys - 6-8 Hz, vestibular apparatus (a device that perceives and analyzes the position of a person in space) -0.5-13 Hz. When the frequency of sound vibrations of external sources approaches the frequency of biorhythms of a particular organ, the phenomenon of resonance (amplification of vibrations) or anti-resonance (suppression of vibrations) occurs, which can lead to unpleasant sensations.

The most dangerous can be considered the interval from 6 to 9 Hz. This range is close to the frequency of alpha brain rhythms - 4 - 6 Hz. Such electromagnetic waves occur in our brain during a period of relative rest, for example, when we eat, do monotonous work, or simply daydream about something. At an infrasound frequency of 7 Hz, when the sound frequency coincides with the alpha rhythm of the brain's biocurrents, any mental work may become impossible due to the feeling that the head is about to break into small pieces. Low-intensity infrasound causes nausea and ringing in the ears, as well as blurred vision and unconscious fear. Infrasound of medium intensity upsets the digestive organs and the brain. High intensity infrasound is very harmful to the heart.

In addition to the frequency of infrasound, the level of sound pressure is important. Usually discomfort start at 120 dB (decibels), and traumatic ones start at 130 dB. At a high level of sound pressure, no more than 10 minutes are enough for the attacked (especially sick or weak) organs to fail. Under the influence of infrasonic vibrations, blood pressure, the rhythm of heart contractions and respiration change. At the same time, the mood worsens, absent-mindedness, a feeling of anxiety and fear appear. In a pregnant woman, prolonged exposure to infrasound can provoke a threat of termination of pregnancy. A positive effect in the work of organs from irradiation with infrasound can be achieved only when correct selection intensity of exposure under the supervision of a specialist.

Normally, the expectant mother should not be exposed to infrasound. However, she cannot be completely immune to it. If you live in a corner apartment of a high-rise building, you can feel the presence of infrasound. At high wind speeds, some residents of such apartments sometimes have strange auditory sensations with a feeling of causeless fear, which disappear without a trace when the weather changes.

Infrasounds can be present in various contemporary music. If you feel that the music is disharmonious, causes you a feeling of anxiety, anxiety, despair, stop listening to it or watching video clips.

It is very important to skillfully use the sound in the car. The point is that in enclosed space machines where several powerful loudspeakers are installed, the sound is perceived by the whole body. During the movement of the car, powerful vibrations are created, which partially turn into infrasound. As a result, headaches and exacerbations occur. chronic diseases. It would be great if, during technical inspections of cars, the level of maximum sound pressure in the cabin was checked, based on existing sanitary standards.

Animal predictors

Since infrasound often precedes various natural disasters: earthquakes, floods, storms, fires, animals can warn a person about them. Very often the approach of misfortune is accompanied by their anxiety. Sensitive to infrasound, our pets are dogs and cats.

Trendy Ultrasound

Not so long ago, parents were waiting for the birth of their baby, being in happy ignorance about his gender and secrets. intrauterine life. Today ultrasonography(ultrasound), from the earliest stages of pregnancy to childbirth, can answer many questions of the doctor and parents. What is this miracle sound and how does it affect the body?

Ultrasound is a normal sound, but of a higher frequency - from 20,000 to several billion hertz. Today, ultrasound is widely used in medicine and biology.

The ability of ultrasound to penetrate without significant absorption soft tissues organism and reflected from internal organs used in diagnostics various diseases and during pregnancy. For diagnostic purposes, low and short-term doses of ultrasound are used, while ultrasound surgery uses high and prolonged doses of ultrasound, which can cause overheating of body tissues and lead to their destruction.

Every pregnant woman is sent by a doctor for an ultrasound examination. How many ultrasounds a woman expects depends on the course of her pregnancy. More than 30 years of ultrasound use have not revealed its possible negative impact to the fruit. It is noticed that during an ultrasound scan, the fetus begins to move restlessly, its heartbeat quickens. Although the baby, like his mother, does not hear ultrasound, it is possible that he reacts to a secondary vibration in the uterine cavity.

Silence is the key to health!

In our life, there are more than enough factors that provoke the development of stress. Among them are complex relationships at home and at work, failures, material difficulties, self-doubt, in their future, fatigue. Noise plays an important role in the development of stress. It surrounds us everywhere - from the unobtrusive "talk" of the radio and TV, the noise in the stairwell, ending with the noise of subways, highways and airports. According to the Russian Ministry of Transport, 35 million people live in conditions of noise discomfort; This is approximately 30% of the country's urban population. In addition, 3-4% of citizens are significantly affected by aircraft noise. What is noise and why is it harmful to our health?

How to avoid noise related problems?

• Permissible noise level in a residential apartment during the day - up to 40 dB, at night - up to 30 dB. It is regrettable to admit that in reality the noise level is usually higher allowable norms. Glazed balconies can become the first barrier to street noise. Plastic windows today, not only give housing a modern and elegant look, but also have good noise protection. Indoors, all porous materials, fabrics, especially woolen ones, are the best sound absorbers, but, unfortunately, dust absorbers as well.
• To save yourself from unnecessary internal noise during operation household appliances, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the availability of a hygiene certificate for the purchased product when buying it. For example, all cutting, whipping, grinding equipment, whose working day in the kitchen is less than 1 hour, should not “noise” more than 85 dB, and household office equipment - no more than 75 dB.
• You can avoid strong noises in everyday life by refusing to listen to loud music, including in the subway. After all, in order to hear music in headphones in the subway, you need to experience sound pressure up to 115-120 dB, which is slightly less than the pain limit.
• During pregnancy, do not get carried away visiting noisy parties and spectacle. Choose a place for daily walks among parks and squares - away from noisy streets and intersections.
• Any long journeys during pregnancy are very tiring for a woman. Their indispensable companions are noise and shaking. Try to create as much as possible comfortable conditions. If possible, stop every 2-3 hours along the way to get some rest. For train travel, choose compartment or sleeping cars.
• Of course, “waiting for the stork” the most important thing is to be in harmony with yourself and your loved ones. Avoid loud arguments and scandals. Try to speak in a quiet, calm voice.

Noise is a chaotic combination of sounds that prevents us from concentrating, thinking, working, annoying and interferes with sleep. Noise power is measured in decibels (dB).

Of course, the degree of influence of noise on the body in different people is not the same. Much determines the type of your nervous system, your biorhythms, the nature of sleep, physical activity and even the amount of trouble per day. Noise can affect the weight of the organs and systems of our body. Its influence can be explained headache, mood instability, anxiety, nervousness, loss of appetite, feeling of nausea. Loud noises can lead to inflammation of the auditory nerve and eventually hearing loss. Noise has an extremely negative effect on mental analytical work. Under the influence of noise, especially sudden noise, we fall asleep more difficult and wake up more often, and sleep becomes disturbing and superficial.

Add to this set the emotional instability of the expectant mother in connection with physiological changes in her body. Superimposed one on the other: the nervous and cardiovascular systems, the endocrine glands react, appetite is disturbed, insomnia comes, or, conversely, constant sleepiness. There is no doubt that the baby feels all the changes that occur in the mother's body. With severe stress, the tone of the muscles of the uterus changes, the vessels narrow, as a result, the fetus may lack oxygen.

It is believed that loud noises help reduce the production of a very important hormone - progesterone, this can cause a threat of abortion. In the future, repetitive stress can threaten the mother with lactation disorders.

For a pregnant woman, it is very important that the noise around her does not exceed the level of 50 - 60 dB: this is the maximum allowable level noise in the workplace. To determine the noise level not only at the workplace, but also at your home, the sanitary and epidemiological supervision authorities are authorized. Hygienists do this with the help of special devices - sound level meters according to approved state methods. Without resorting to the help of specialists, you yourself can approximately determine the noise level at work. A small test will be a short conversation with a colleague. If you speak calmly or slightly straining your voice, while understanding the interlocutor's speech well, then the noise level does not exceed 65 dB. If your labor activity associated with the action of strong noise, you should be transferred to a more "quiet" work.

In tune with the heart...

ABOUT healing properties a lot of music is spoken. How does it affect the human body?

Firstly, sound waves through our hearing organs in the form of nerve impulses reach the center of emotions (feelings) and sensations in the brain - the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is the main nerve center that is responsible for the constancy of the internal environment of the body. We often react to music spontaneously without thinking about it. The arisen emotion is immediately transformed into a signal to the glands that produce hormones, and hormones, in turn, affect the heart rate, breathing, and blood vessels.

The second mechanism of influence of music is the direct impact on the internal organs. The fact is that every organ: brain, heart, liver, kidneys, spleen - works rhythmically. The biorhythms of our internal organs are similar in their physical characteristics to musical chords, individual for each organ. The sounds of music, when their frequency coincides with the frequencies of the internal organs, make our organs work in a different mode. Harmonious music strengthens the body, positively affecting all functions. Harmful music is considered sharp, with irregular rhythms, which can cause disturbances in the functioning of the heart, blood vessels, and the production of excessive amounts of hormones.

Of course, each of us has our favorite music. The main thing is that it improves our well-being and gives us pleasure.

It has been proven that an unborn baby, being in the mother's stomach, is able to hear and feel. If you start talking with a child already at the stage of pregnancy, then after his birth he will recognize the voices of loved ones. Communication with the baby during the period of its gestation with the help of touches and sounds is called haptonomy. Music during pregnancy great option such communication. Calm classical melodies render beneficial effect on the development of the fetus, as well as calm, pacify and relax his mother.

Is music therapy helpful during pregnancy?

Music influences everything around. Its sounds can even change the composition of water molecules. A person listening to music instantly changes emotional condition, mood, well-being improves.

Music therapy is extremely beneficial for pregnant women. It helps to calm down, tune in a positive way, teaches you to relax and focus.

Such skills will be useful in childbirth, help to weaken pain. Many women in labor listen to soothing music while already in the delivery room.

Influence on intrauterine development of the fetus

Also in Ancient China believed that the life of a child begins at conception. It was customary to bring him up during pregnancy. AND the best way such education were considered the sounds of music.

In the East young girl before marriage, she had to make a beautiful carpet. And when she becomes a woman, she will have to magically weave the soul of the crumbs by singing lullabies.

Modern science seeks to promote the idea of ​​the intellectual development of the child inside the womb. It is noticed that in newborns the activity of brain neurons is weak. A large number of nerve cells during this period are underdeveloped.

The level of development and the number of neurons is directly related to the intellect of a person and the maturity of his psyche.

Significant beneficial effect on intrauterine development the baby has a musical effect. The baby begins to hear sounds at about 14-15 weeks of its existence inside the mother. It has been experimentally found that music can activate metabolic processes in the baby's body.

When listening to it, they develop better:

• nervous system;
• cardiovascular;
• respiratory system;
• digestion;
• muscle fibres.

There is a different reaction of the fetus to sounds depending on the volume level, frequency, rhythm, style of performance. By pushing the baby, you can understand whether he likes music. Calm melodies can calm him down, and cheerful melodies can cheer him up.

How does the baby react to different melodies?

Interestingly, if a child inside the womb regularly hears the same melody or lullaby, then after his birth he can easily recognize familiar sounds. In response, he activates motor activity or calmed down by crying.

It has been observed that babies remember and later react to the musical screensavers of the series that their mothers liked to watch during pregnancy. During the sound of familiar motives in children, the pulse even quickens.

At the sixth month of development, the child begins to move to the sounds of orchestral music. From the world-famous melodies of Mozart, the fetus calms down already at the 4th month of being in the mother's tummy. The works of Brahms and Beethoven, on the contrary, disturb him.

Little “bubblers” love it when their mother sings lullabies to them, and the works of Handel and Vivaldi are heard from the speakers. The rhythms of these melodies resemble a measured heartbeat.

And newborns behave calmly with the sounds of sea waves or a waterfall, because they are similar to their native intrauterine noises.

What styles and compositions do you prefer?

When choosing music to listen to during pregnancy, young mothers should focus on calm and classical melodies. Chaotic and loud rock compositions will not please either a pregnant mother or a baby. In addition, the classics have a positive effect on the development of the intellect of the unborn child (the Mozart effect).

Musical impact consists of three components:

1. rhythm;
2. tonality;
3. oscillation frequency.

Why should you choose calm, measured works for music therapy during pregnancy? Their rhythm should be as close as possible, or even less than the frequency of heart beats. The brain, having caught such a melody, will give the body of the mother and baby a signal to relax and become calmer.

Musical key can be minor or major. A minor is a sad melody filled with sadness and melancholy. Listening to her, a pregnant mother can easily enter a state of depression. But someone may like minor compositions. Major, on the contrary, is expressed in mobile and dynamic sounds. It is joy, happiness, euphoria. Such music instantly evokes bright positive emotions. Key selection musical composition for the expectant mother is individual.

The frequency of vibrations or musical frequency also causes a certain reaction of the brain.

• The increased frequency of the melody instills anxiety, dispels mental activity, worsens the reaction.
• Too low frequencies in music cause anxiety and anxiety.

Knowing the features of a particular composition, it is easy to choose music suitable for improving the psychological state during pregnancy. Most likely, it will be a light major melody of joy or motives that encourage relaxation, plus the sound of water, the singing of birds, the sound of waves breaking on the shore.

Already in the fifth month of pregnancy, it is better for a woman expecting a baby not to visit cinemas and noisy parties. The peanut jerks himself will make it clear that he does not like loud, sharp sounds.

Classical music for you and your baby

Among the huge number of classical melodies, there are the most suitable for pregnant women and their babies. Doctors recommend listening to the works of brilliant world composers.

1. The famous "Four Seasons" by Vivaldi.
2. Gentle melodies by Frederic Chopin.
3. "Symphony No. 40" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
4. The famous "Lullaby" by Brahms.
5. "Moonlight Sonata" and other works by Beethoven.
6. Such masterpieces by Pyotr Tchaikovsky as "Swan Lake" and "Sleeping Beauty".
7. Also, expectant mothers will surely like the works of Schubert and Debussy.

Photo gallery "Classical composers whose works are recommended for listening to expectant mothers"

All the musical variety that reaches the ears of a baby and a woman during pregnancy has a certain effect on well-being and mood, as well as on the development of the fetus.

Video "Classical music for pregnant women"

When and how to listen?

• Before you start listening to your favorite tunes, you should complete all classes so as not to be distracted and be able to relax as much as possible.

• Turn on calm music in the background or arrange a real music therapy session with subdued lights, candles or an aroma lamp.

• You should be as comfortable as possible on the sofa or in a rocking chair. A music therapy session can be arranged during water procedures, for example, take a bubble bath with light classical music or nature sounds.

• During music therapy, talk to the baby, touch the stomach. Tell the baby how you love and wait for him. Tune in a peaceful way, listen to yourself, try to mentally convey your love and mood to the child. It has been proven that even a few minutes surrounded by a calm melodic composition will favorably affect psychological condition mother and child.

• Such a musical session can last from 5 to 40 minutes. At this time, the expectant mother should relax as much as possible and focus on her feelings and on the baby.

• Listen to music at least once a day. A great option would be a trip to the Philharmonic.

• When listening at home, give preference to high-quality professional recordings.

• Listen to fast positive melodies after waking up, and before going to bed, prefer slow melodic pieces.

While listening to music, you can attach headphones to your pregnant tummy - so the baby will hear sounds better and perceive them

Is it possible to get involved in loud music - the opinion of doctors

While conducting a study on the condition of pregnant women in Japan, it was noticed that expectant mothers living near the airport were prone to premature delivery as a result of constantly hearing the sound of aircraft jet engines.

The child of a woman who, while pregnant, visited an enclosure with lions and fed these predators to their loud roar, from birth to the age of seven, had problems with hearing and reaction. When he heard the roar wild cats, his attention was scattered, and there was no reaction to other sounds. This was the result of the stress experienced by the baby in the womb.

Listening to loud music and harsh sounds by the mother during pregnancy is considered harmful to the baby and may cause hyperactive behavior in the future.

Sing lullabies to your baby

Starting from the moment of conception and throughout the first year of life, mother's voice will be the most dear and desirable for the baby. Pregnant women are naturally inclined to sing lullabies to the unborn baby. And that's right, and that's great. Sing lullabies to your little one, and any other children's songs.

The very first ideas about speech the child receives thanks to the voice and singing of the mother. It is noticed that the children of deaf-mute women subsequently have problems with the development of speech.

With the help of music already at the stage of pregnancy, the expectant mother can significantly improve intellectual development baby, affect his emotional state. According to experts, in the future, a child accustomed to music will be inquisitive and intelligent. In addition, listening to your favorite tunes will bring pleasure to the woman herself, who is expecting a baby, and will only set her in a positive mood.

Our world is full of sounds, and we all have an amazing ability to hear them. Loud and quiet, pleasant and annoying, they somehow affect our body. A lot has been said about the degree of this influence and the consequences: it is known for certain that the sound signals entering the brain activate certain zones of it, changing the level of hormones, and finally, the mood.

We ourselves may not react sharply to these changes, but our body, and even in interesting position will definitely notice them. This raises a quite reasonable question about whether it is possible for pregnant women to go to the cinema, where the sound component is essential element holistic view of the film. I propose to look for the answer to it together.

It is because of the loud sound that expectant mothers deny themselves the pleasure of going to a movie show. Isn't it in vain? According to obstetricians and gynecologists, physiologically, until the 16th week, the fetus is deaf, because it has not yet developed a hearing aid. So why do we talk to him almost from the first days of conception, you ask? It turns out that he "feels" us.

The sound signal is transmitted through vibration, affecting biological tissues and allowing the baby to “hear” and understand even more than if he already had both ears at his disposal. By the way, when the latter appear, the fetus reacts to the sound. We made sure of this after a series of studies were conducted at the University of Toronto, during which women in an interesting position were allowed to listen different sounds: classical music, jazz, rock, loud noises from the street. Do you know what was the result?

It turns out that classics and jazz were perceived calmly in the womb, but from rock and street noise they began to kick there. Moreover, the baby had tachycardia in response to stress, even if the mother herself liked this kind of music. Interestingly, some physicians are actively using the results of this study in their activities: patients with breech presentation they recommend applying headphones with pleasant music to the stomach above the pubis for a period of 36-37 weeks, thereby forcing the babies to bring their heads closer to them and roll over.

Arguing about the danger of loud sound, one cannot fail to mention the dB - a measure of sound. For the normal functioning of our hearing aid, their level should not exceed 55 dB during the day and 40 dB at night. All this is heard, so we all know about it. Meanwhile, not everyone understands that in the conditions of large cities these norms are significantly increased, but a person who lives there permanently does not even notice these increases.

For comparison:

• ordinary colloquial speech - 45 - 60 dB;
• traffic noise - 80 dB;
• baby crying - 75 - 80 dB;
• noise at the construction site - up to 100 dB;
• the sound of a flying aircraft - up to 140 dB;
• noise of a vacuum cleaner and office equipment - up to 80 dB;
• children's games - up to 80 dB;
• car passage - up to 70 dB for cars and up to 80 dB for trucks;
• music in a nightclub - up to 110 dB;
• a passing train or motorcycle - up to 90 dB;
• car signal - up to 120 dB;
• sound at a concert or in a cinema - up to 120 dB.

Using these data, to the question of whether it is harmful for a pregnant woman to go to the movies, most experts answer: “No, it’s not harmful.” Dangerous for a hearing aid is a sound with a power of up to 200 dB or a little less (from 100 dB), but if it acts constantly - for days on end, as a result of which a rupture of the eardrum and complete deafness may occur.

How does your baby react to loud noises?

On early dates, that is, until the 16th week of pregnancy, the baby will not notice the sounds in the cinema. From the moment when the hearing aid is formed, he, first of all, will hear everything inside: the beat of the heart, the flow of blood through the vessels, the rumbling of the stomach. Any loud sounds will have to pass through before reaching it. amniotic fluid, while losing a significant part of its intensity. And even if they reach the baby, it is impossible to talk about their negative impact on his body. There is no exact information about their harm yet.

Doctors simply say that if the baby feels bad, he will definitely tell about it, constantly changing position, kicking and forcing his mother to leave the place he does not like. The easiest way to notice his discontent is a woman, of course, on later dates when the shocks and shocks will be most noticeable.

Summing up all of the above, it is worth noting that although the fetus is not as deaf as one might imagine, he will not experience great discomfort from listening to loud sound in the cinema. Much more important for him will be the emotional state of the mother at this moment, but more on that later.

What other inconveniences await a pregnant woman in a cinema

Other dangers that a woman may face during a movie show are trivial:

• Huge crowds of people - perhaps in summer period they are not so critical, but in autumn and winter, when they “walk” with might and main colds, transmitted by airborne droplets, quite. Is it necessary to talk about what harm they can cause to a pregnant woman, not only in the first, but also in the second trimester, even when all the organs of the fetus are already formed. Possible consequences: miscarriage in the early stages, developmental pathologies in the middle of the term, placental abruption and premature birth on the slopes.
• Stuffiness is a "disease" of all premises in which there is a large crowd of people. At some point, the level of oxygen becomes critically low and the fetus feels it, even if the woman herself does not notice it. Possible consequence is hypoxia, or oxygen starvation. The first signs of a dangerous diagnosis are too frequent or, conversely, rare fetal movements in the case when the woman herself is calm and sits in comfortable position. Of course, you can notice them in time and sound the alarm at 30 weeks and later, when the weight of the crumbs already allows you to feel its movements well.
• The same position - whatever one may say, but the chairs in the cinema force the mother to stay in the same position for a long time (about 2 hours). First of all, it is dangerous for herself - veins suffer, limbs that numb, although negative impact the child can also feel, about which he will definitely let you know with his movements.

Finally, the last, although not fatal, is the difficulty with going to the bathroom. Before and after the session, large queues are usually observed in the ladies' rooms, and not always future mother they can skip ahead: for short periods or in some women, due to the special constitution of the body, the tummy is not visible. All Negative consequences Mom will feel this inconvenience to the maximum when the baby puts pressure on bladder while she waits for her turn.

During a session, women who sit far away from the aisles may be embarrassed to go to the toilet so as not to interfere with others enjoying the movie. Needless to say that in an interesting position this is superfluous.

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Until recently, it was assumed that the fetus is reliably protected by the tissues of the mother's body from the effects of noise. However, it was found that loud noise can reach fruit. Research carried out at the Institute of Medicine environment Karolinska University in Stockholm proves that during pregnancy, women should avoid exposure high levels noise.

The study, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, covered 1.4 million children born in Sweden between 1986 and 2008. The following indicators were analyzed: the mother's profession, her age, ethnicity, body mass index, length of stay on leave for health reasons, bad habits(smoking) and socio-economic factors.

According to the results obtained, in the group of part-time and full-time workers, the adjusted value of the relative risk (HR) of hearing loss in a child associated with exposure to industrial noise levels above 85 dB, compared with noise levels below 75 dB, is 1.27 (95% confidence interval ). If only full-time female workers are considered, this rises to 1.82 (95% CI).

“The Swedish Occupational Safety and Health Administration advises pregnant women to avoid noise above 80 dBA, but unfortunately this recommendation is not always followed,” says Jenny Celander, lead researcher. “Our results show how important it is for employers to follow this recommendation. Even if pregnant women enjoy by individual means hearing protection, their unborn children are left unprotected.”