Stanford study finds something extraordinary about the sound of a mother's voice for newborn premature babies

Stanford researchers narrowed on a special quality of a mother's voice for babies that comes with major biological benefits.

Whenever one feels homesick, they ring up their mother, and just hearing her voice brings much-needed comfort and calm. You may think your mom’s soothing voice holds healing magic, and in a way, it really does. Maternal voice does carry its own magic, and even science has proven it!

A new study from Stanford Medicine, published on October 13 in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, revealed the remarkable capacity of a mother's voice to support brain development in children born prematurely.

What did the study find?

Often, premature babies may not have their brains fully developed because they miss the last few critical weeks of growth in the womb. The last phase is vital for key neural connections and pathways.

The researchers examined 46 babies who were born more than eight weeks early. Their mothers recorded reading a chapter from Paddington Bear in their own native language. The premature babies heard these recordings for around 2 hours and 40 minutes daily. After conducting MRI scans, it was revealed that those babies who listened to the recordings showed signs of brain development. The babies' brain scans showed that their white matter in the left arcuate fasciculus was more mature. This region is for processing language. The researchers encouraged parents of premature babies to talk to them as much as they can.

In the study, mothers read out a chapter from a kids' storybook. (Picture credit: Image generated by Gemini)

What does this means?

Lead author, Katherine Travis, PhD, an assistant professor at Stanford Medicine, shared in a Stanford report , “I was surprised by how strong the effect was. That we can detect differences in brain development this early suggests what we’re doing in the hospital matters. Speech exposure matters for brain development.”

This demonstrates the power of speech as it can bring visible differences in a premature baby's brain development, even at such an early phase. Turns out a mother's voice is not just emotionally calming but also biologically soothing. The sound of a mother's voice is literally shaping the structure of the baby, indicating how significant it.

Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.