Foetuses in the womb explore their bodies as part of their development and even learn how to anticipate touch, according to research published in the journal Developmental Psychobiology. High tech 4-dimensional scanning revealed that “increased touching of the lower part of the face and mouth in foetuses could be an indicator of brain development necessary for healthy development, including preparedness for social interaction, self soothing and feeding”. This is also likely the origin of thumb sucking, done to promote calmness. Prior studies have found that babies yawn in the womb and practise facial expressions there, thought to be in preparation for communicating after birth.
As the fetuses matured they began to increasingly touch the lower, more sensitive, part of their faces including their mouths.
By 36 weeks a significantly higher proportion of fetuses were observed opening their mouths before touching them, suggesting that later in pregnancy they were able to anticipate that their hands were about to touch their mouths, rather than reacting to the touch of their hands, the researchers said.
Increased sensitivity around a fetus’ mouth at this later stage of pregnancy could mean that they have more “awareness” of mouth movement, they added.
Previous theories have suggested that movement in sequence could form the basis for the development of intention in fetuses.
The researchers said their findings could potentially be an indicator of healthy development, as arguably fetuses who are delayed in this development due to illness, such as growth restriction, might not show the same behaviour observed during the study.
Credit : Science Daily
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