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Fetuses that are only 30 weeks old may already possess short-term memory …
… The authors stated that habituation is a form of learning and needs an intact central nervous system.
… According to background information in the paper, the first study to look at fetal habituation took place in 1925 and involved repeated honking of a car horn. Since then, similar studies have been conducted with electric toothbrushes and door buzzers, as well as the vibroacoustic stimulator.
In this study, fetuses were exposed to the vibroacoustic stimulation at 30, 32, 34, 36 and 38 weeks’ gestation.
Fetuses as young as 30 weeks demonstrated a short-term memory of 10 minutes, and fetuses at 34 weeks seemed able to remember information they stored four weeks prior, the authors stated …
Melissa Maimann, Essential Birth Consulting 0400 418 448