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What You Need to Know About Your Baby’s Hearing Development

October 10, 2019

Every day your baby is in utero, his or her hearing is developing. This important sense becomes more and more refined well before birth takes place. In today’s post, we’ll explore the typical timeline of hearing development for fetuses, from when it first develops to what your baby can hear up to labor and delivery. We’ll also talk about the importance of a complete nutrition plan for expecting moms to support their own hearing and that of a developing baby.

Early Stages of Development: Weeks 4-9

Even in your fourth or fifth week of pregnancy, cells in the embryo are beginning to arrange themselves to form your baby’s face, brain, nose, ears and eyes. By week 9, indentions start to appear where the baby’s ears will grow.1

Baby First Begins to Hear: Week 18

By your 18th week of pregnancy, your baby can hear his or her first sounds! Your baby’s little ears will now begin to rapidly develop and hearing sensitivity will continue to increase.1

Heightened Hearing: Week 24

By week 24, your baby’s hearing sensitivity is heightened considerably and he or she will be more sensitive to sound.1

Responding to Sounds: Week 25-26

Not only can your baby hear sounds at this point, he or she also begins to respond to them. The most common sounds baby may respond to are mom’s voice, dad’s voice or the voices of other familiar people. Research suggests that by the third trimester, your baby can already recognize your voice and will respond with an increased heart rate, indicating greater alertness when mom is speaking.1

Responding to Sounds: Week 30-35

As your pregnancy nears the full term, your baby’s hearing continues to develop and become more sensitive. This has been documented through research and experimentation on hearing in utero, with one study finding that the baby is able to hear and respond to a wider range of sound frequencies as gestation progresses.2

Nutrients That Support Hearing Health

Eating foods that are rich in the following nutrients may help you and your baby maintain a healthy sense of hearing:

  • Potassium – Regulates the fluid in the inner ear.3
  • Folic acid – Helps the body generate new cell growth and improve circulation, contributing to overall health of hair cells in the inner ear.3
  • Magnesium – May help protect the inner ear from loud noises. Low levels of magnesium may be linked to shrinking blood vessels in the inner ear, which can cause oxygen deprivation.3
  • Zinc – Has been linked to increased cell regeneration and healing. Helps boost the immune system and ward off infections that can affect the ear.3
  • Omega-3 fats – May reduce the risk of age-related hearing loss. Omega-3s also support brain function, sending signals between the brain and ears more effectively.3

Prenate® Vitamin Family

Supporting the healthy development of your baby’s hearing may include adding a prenatal vitamin to your nutritional plan. The Prenate® Vitamin Family may be included as part of a healthy pregnancy and overall nutritional health plan. Prenate® offers a complete line of prescription prenatal vitamins created to support positive pregnancy outcomes and meet the changing nutritional needs of expecting mothers. Talk to your doctor to see if the Prenate® Vitamin Family’s prenatal vitamins are right for you.

Connect with Prenate®

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

WARNING: Accidental overdose of iron-containing products is a leading cause of fatal poisoning in children under 6. Keep this product out of reach of children. In case of accidental overdose, call a doctor or poison control center immediately.

WARNING: Ingestion of more than 3 grams of omega-3 fatty acids (such as DHA) per day has been shown to have potential antithrombotic effects, including an increased bleeding time and International Normalized Ratio (INR). Administration of omega-3 fatty acids should be avoided in patients taking anticoagulants and in those known to have an inherited or acquired predisposition to bleeding.

This site and its contents are an information resource only, and are neither intended to nor should be used in replacement of your doctor or other prescribing professional’s medical guidance, recommendations or advice. Neither this site nor its information should be used or relied upon for any diagnostic, medical, treatment, nutritional or other purpose. All aspects of pregnancy, including whether pregnancy is right for you, and the nourishment and care of your child, should be made with your doctor and other appropriate medical professional, and in consideration of your and your child’s particular medical history. Avion Pharmaceuticals, LLC (“Avion”) makes no representation, warranty or other undertaking that this site or its information are appropriate for you or your child’s specific needs or issues, and further expressly disclaims all damages, losses, injuries or liability whatsoever incurred or alleged to have been incurred in consequence of your reliance on the information on this site. Avion does not endorse any test, procedure, treatment, remedy, therapy, cure, nutritional regimen, method or other activity or undertaking that you and/or your doctor or other medical professional may elect or recommend. By visiting this site you agree to these terms and conditions and acknowledge that you have read and understand the same. These terms and conditions, together with any information on this site, may be amended, restated or otherwise changed from time to time and at any time by Avion within the sole, absolute and uncontrolled exercise of its discretion. You acknowledge and agree that Avion has no duty or obligation to keep you informed of any amendments to, restatements of or other changes to these terms and conditions or this site, and that you are solely and exclusively responsible for apprising yourself of the same.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

WARNING: Accidental overdose of iron-containing products is a leading cause of fatal poisoning in children under 6. Keep this product out of reach of children. In case of accidental overdose, call a doctor or poison control center immediately.

WARNING: Ingestion of more than 3 grams of omega-3 fatty acids (such as DHA) per day has been shown to have potential antithrombotic effects, including an increased bleeding time and International Normalized Ratio (INR). Administration of omega-3 fatty acids should be avoided in patients taking anticoagulants and in those known to have an inherited or acquired predisposition to bleeding.

This site and its contents are an information resource only, and are neither intended to nor should be used in replacement of your doctor or other prescribing professional’s medical guidance, recommendations or advice. Neither this site nor its information should be used or relied upon for any diagnostic, medical, treatment, nutritional or other purpose. All aspects of pregnancy, including whether pregnancy is right for you, and the nourishment and care of your child, should be made with your doctor and other appropriate medical professional, and in consideration of your and your child’s particular medical history. Avion Pharmaceuticals, LLC (“Avion”) makes no representation, warranty or other undertaking that this site or its information are appropriate for you or your child’s specific needs or issues, and further expressly disclaims all damages, losses, injuries or liability whatsoever incurred or alleged to have been incurred in consequence of your reliance on the information on this site. Avion does not endorse any test, procedure, treatment, remedy, therapy, cure, nutritional regimen, method or other activity or undertaking that you and/or your doctor or other medical professional may elect or recommend. By visiting this site you agree to these terms and conditions and acknowledge that you have read and understand the same. These terms and conditions, together with any information on this site, may be amended, restated or otherwise changed from time to time and at any time by Avion within the sole, absolute and uncontrolled exercise of its discretion. You acknowledge and agree that Avion has no duty or obligation to keep you informed of any amendments to, restatements of or other changes to these terms and conditions or this site, and that you are solely and exclusively responsible for apprising yourself of the same.

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