Alternatives to BabyPlus

[Keith Trangmar]

Does anyone hereabouts have any experience of any other prenatal learning "systems" (for want of something else to call them)?

I read a magazine article about this many years ago, and decided to have a go at it for myself when my wife fell pregnant with our first child. My technique involved spoken word on audio tape - there, that gives you a clue how long ago this was - and it worked like a charm, although we didn't appreciate the extent at the time. Unfortunately I had misplaced the tape by the time our second was conceived and, at that time having a nearly-2-year-old, it all seemed like too much hassle to record a new one, so we didn't bother that time around. It's only when our son started school that we started to understand the difference which it had made.

I've decided to try to start a campaign to promote awareness of the benefits of prenatal learning, and I've documented my experience. At this point I'd like to include a rather shameless plug for my own website, http://www.SmarterBabies.info, which is where you can read about it. I'm no journalist, and my writing skills therefore sometimes leave a bit to be desired, but I think it gets the point across.

So in the interest of presenting a well-rounded view of the whole topic, I'm curious to know if there are any commercial prenatal learning techniques which involve use of the spoken word? All those which I've come across mention of so far seem to involve either music or rhythmic sounds, but I'm pretty sure that the article which I read was specifically about stimulating growth in the areas of the brain which are responsible for language recognition.

I realise that it's difficult to measure the results with any degree of accuracy, because most parents wouldn't be subjecting their 5-year-old to an IQ test unless they're deliberately trying to raise a "genius", in which case they'll probably also be doing lots of other things to stimulate intelligence too. I personally don't think it's fair to push a child towards their Ph.D in their mid-teens, as the TV documentaries which I've seen about a few of these "prodigies" seems to indicate that they've not had much of a childhood, and their social life is likely to suffer as a consequence in later life. Not that I'm disparaging the techniques being advocated on these forums though; my wife and I followed some similar lines ourselves, encouraging constructive play in both our children, reading to them from an early age, and sending them both to a Montessori day-nursery which promoted the same concepts.

So, anyway: BabyPlus was actually the only other which I'd heard of before stumbling across this site. What are the others, what do they involve, and are they any good?

[nhockaday]

I haven't heard of any other commercial products. I just know of talking, reading, playing music, singing, massage, playing kick games and flashlight games. Have you read the prenatal section of brillbaby's site?

[KL]

Well, I think BabyPlus is the only 'complete' system out there. 

There are some other prenatal stimulation aids out there, mainly speaker systems that you strap around the belly and to which you hook up a CD player or mp3 player.  The main issue I have with these strap-on speaker/audio systems is whether they are actually loud enough to be heard by the fetus inside.   Most people are afraid it would be too loud, but judging from how loud BabyPlus is (which underwent a lot of research, taking into account the thickness of the uterus wall), I think we should be more 'concerned' (for the lack of a better word) as to whether the typical tiny speakers that come with these audio systems are actually loud enough for the fetus to hear anything.

Which is why for us, apart from babyPlus, we did much more of 'direct talking', both from mother and father, and lots of singing, lots of massaging, kick-response game-playing, etc.  We also used those strap-on speaker systems, but I'm really not sure how much our daughter heard any of it cos they weren't very loud!

btw, that's a great site - thanks for sharing! And welcome to the Forums!

[nhockaday]

I had some speakers that I played music through. The instructions said to put them up to your ears, and to adjust it to a good listening volume for you. Gabriel would normally squirm when I started playing music, so I'm pretty sure that he heard it. When I started using Babyplus, I wondered why  it was so much louder than the speakers recommended.

[Keith Trangmar]

Have you read the prenatal section of brillbaby's site?

Yes, I saw the mention of Brent Logan, Thomas Verny and Rene Van de Carr. I assume these are just experts propounding a theory then, not actually trying to sell something (except maybe a book)?

[Keith Trangmar]

Regarding the volume, I was aware that babies respond to external voices at normal "speaking" levels so I went with a pair of old foam-covered headphones, the type which you have to buy on cheaper airline flights in order to be able to hear the in-flight movie.

The ones I used were from our honeymoon and happened to be the type which clip over each ear independently, so we just laid them either side of the bump. I have a vague idea that we might have tried to secure them somehow, but to be perfectly honest I can't think how, as it was over 10 years ago now and I'm pretty sure Pam would have rebelled if I'd tried to afix them to her belly with duct tape... 

I was concerned at first about the risk of it being too loud, so I found a comfortable listening level for myself then dropped it half a notch; despite all the layers of "insulation" between Ben and the outside world, it would seem that I stumbled upon a suitable level. We went to a firework display at about the 6-month mark, and he certainly let Pam know when that was too loud for him! The playing-of-tapes was normally done during the evening in a quiet, relaxed atmosphere with no TV or music in the background, which I guess were all condusive to his concentration, as it were.

My sister-in-law used to watch a particular TV soap opera several nights a week while she was pregnant with my nephew, and he apparently associated the title theme music with his Mum relaxing, because when he was born, he would always calm down whenever EastEnders came on. They cottoned onto this pretty quickly, and managed to buy a copy of the theme tune on CD, which they then played to him in the evening to get him to go to sleep. It worked a treat. I don't know if she was in the habit of turning the TV up loud, but she certainly wasn't sitting on top of it, so perhaps they can hear better than we might have expected.

KL - thanks, but you've rather outdone me here; I'm a database guy, and web design is most definitely not my forte, so seeing what you've achieved with BrillBaby has only reinforced my conviction that my own page looks decidely amateurish. Ah well... 

[KL]

Thanks, Keith.

Re the volume issue, I guess the mother would be in the best position to tell if the fetus can hear the sounds or not from whether there are any movements or reaction to it.

[lawrence]

After doing a quick google search for prenatal education.

Your right, there aren't very much tools available other than Babyplus.
I did remember seeing a nicely designed speaker you strap to the belly, if I can remember the name, I'll post it later.

And congrats Keith, I've been to your site and you have great success with you boy!
 

[unitedNotions]

dangerous to use these flakey devices, with NO peer-reviewed tests, only self-published info by the discredited inventor who FAKED his own credentials. Pls search for my post on this. Alternatively, place a speaker playing annoying repetative techno beats at an untested volume next to your developing baby for hours per day, and hope he doesnt come out as a techno-loving half-wit. Same effect (and rationale) as baby plus!

[Kimba15]

Hi Keith!

Thanks for the link. I went to your website and found it really interesting. I will remember with the next pregnancy to do more prenatal things with my bubba.

I read to sophia while i was pregnant and she loved it.

[celiacelia226]

For healthy growth of babies, mothers need to be careful.

[Nikita]

Well, I am 7 weeks or so pregnant so will try your suggestions Keith...I'll even give Baby Plus a committed go this time despite it driving me up the wall with it's repetitive drumbeats with baby 4 so gave it a bit of a miss with baby 5 (maybe i can stuff something in my ears to muffle them)....
I like the idea of Dr Suess...I think there are some repetitive easily memorised books out there I would choose (in the Green Eggs and Ham vein)...

[Kimba15]

My husband and I read Green eggs and Ham to Miss S and I 'think' she loved it. Whenever we read to her she would kick away happily. If I ever get my way and I am able to have a baby no 3 I certainly will look at Babyplus.

[PokerDad]

I think if you just read aloud, Suess or whatever, and really use intonation, then you're golden. The rhythm, cadence, vicissitude of your reading voice and such will all do wonders and make it easier for reading time after birth (IMO). Good luck!

[A_BC]

I used BabyPlus with my LO. I am not sure if that was helpful or not - at least not like the raving reviews are saying. I think my toddler is now doing quite well (reading at 2nd grade level and doing addition/ subtraction at 24 mos), certainly he didn't get this by just listening to BabyPlus, but thanks to early learning. I also had read aloud many other books in different languages during my pregnancy. I am sure that hearing different sounds and accents helped him tremendously in picking up those languages and reading them easily. IMHO what matters the most  is STIMULATION in different ways, read aloud, massage your belly, when he/she kicks, communicate by gently applying pressure (you can even go further and introduce counting and patterns this way), eat a variety of healthy food as the amniotic liquid will allow your baby to experience the same flavors, move around in different directions, speeds, orientations, etc (yoga is perfect for this). HTH!

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