The fact that reading to your baby while pregnant promotes brain development and health has been scientifically proven. This could help to improve literacy skills and develop language control. Ayurveda has long held this belief and has provided many books to assist mothers in being and reading to their babies in the womb.
There might now be a lot of questions in your mind, like what to read, why, and most importantly, when to read. So, the article further discusses the answers to all your queries.
Why Read Stories to Your Baby?
Reading to your baby has its benefits. The first and foremost reason for reading a story to your unborn baby is to make the baby smarter. Yes, it is true.
-
Reading books to your baby while pregnant adds a lot to the development of the baby but also builds literacy skills and makes him/her familiar with the language.
-
The second very important reason is that it establishes an even stronger bond between the mother and the baby.
-
This helps in the speech development of the baby. Even though your unborn or even newborn in that case cannot reply, they understand and grasp everything from their surroundings.
-
It sharpens the memory retention of your baby which would be very beneficial for the future.
Additionally, reading to a baby also has many benefits for a mother-to-be. Keeping yourself engaged with the baby lowers your vulnerability to emotional breakdowns, and anxiety and helps reduce stress. Also, the deepening bond of both the mother and the baby is very precious for a mother-to-be. This keeps you happy and cheered up during your pregnancy.
When To Start Reading Stories While Pregnant?
Doing everything at a perfect time certainly has a greater impact and so is in this case. Reading the right stories at the right time adds a lot to the mental development of your baby. Therefore, it is important to know the exact time you start reading stories to your little one in the womb.
So, here's all the relevant information that will help you make an informed decision on when to read stories to your unborn baby.
-
The baby begins to move around in the tenth month. It's from the 10th month of your pregnancy when your baby starts to twist and turn in your womb.
-
The end of the second trimester or 23rd week of your pregnancy, is the time when the baby starts listening to the sound outside the womb, gets familiar with it and might even react to it by the 25th week.
-
This is considered to be the right time to start reading to your unborn baby to start training and grooming. The baby can hear almost every sound from the mother and develop accordingly. Hence, it is said to be thoughtful while pregnant.
And this brings up another very important question of what to read to your baby to ensure healthy development.
What To Read to Your Unborn Baby?
There are many books provided in Ayurveda to assist a mother-to-be. It is believed that there's nothing much specific to read to your baby. But it's more about reading whatever you feel like, aloud so that the baby can hear it.
However, horror stories and dark plots should be avoided during pregnancy and replaced with mythological or religious content. This brings positivity to you and your baby.
Moreover, there are some stories and books written only to be read to an unborn baby. The list of some of these goes like
-
Ramayana
-
Shiv Puran
-
Bhagwat Geeta
-
Garbh Geeta
and so on.
All of these are some nursery rhymes-kind of stories that are framed with the idea of an early development process of a baby's literacy that can be resumed after the baby is born.
This, however, is completely up to you. You can choose whatever you want to read to your baby for their development. All you need to do is to make sure it adds value to the mental growth of your little one.
These were the answers to all your questions about reading books to your baby. Hope you have an idea of what to do by now and you're prepared to read some exciting stories to your unborn baby and have some quality time with them.
Image reference: https://images.app.goo.gl/McQixEXkWq5gPpoz7
