Back to School for your Unborn Baby - Tips for Expecting Parents

By: Sandy Jamieson, 'BA (Hons)', member of APPPAH, author of  "Zaida Baby - My First Keepsake" www.zaidababy.com/myfirstkeepsake

Who says that you need to be outside of the womb to learn? Just because you don't have a school age child, doesn't mean that you have to wait until your child is 4 years old and off to kindergarten before you begin educating them. Medical research proves that unborn babies are capable of learning before they are born. This is considered to be the time when your baby is at its peak.

5 Things you can do to educate your unborn baby...

1. Read to them. Parents' voices are the number one sound to have in an unborn baby's environment. Since the ear is one of the earliest organs to fully develop, the sense of hearing is a direct connection to the fetus. Reading to your unborn baby will help them to learn about language.

2. Play music. Music is the second most important sound to have in an unborn baby's environment. Choose one piece of music and play it for your unborn baby every day. Mozart is one of the unborn baby's favourite composers.

3. Constant communication. Keep your unborn baby involved in your every day activities. Babies learn about language in only one way and that is by hearing language as parents talk to them.

4. Be consistently present in their life. Just because you aren't showing or you can't feel your baby moving, doesn't mean that they're not present. Your unborn baby needs to be constantly cared for. They have emotional and intellectual needs...not as advanced as ours, but they still exist.

5. Love them. This is the perhaps the easiest way for you to teach your child about the world that awaits them. Unborn babies are capable of responding to love, and they are aware of how you feel about them. By communicating feelings of love, you are communicating to your baby that the world is a safe and nurturing place...an environment in utero in which your baby will thrive.

*All of these steps work together to create a prenatal bond between a parent and a child. If parents follow these steps, than bonding will naturally occur. Creating a bond with your unborn baby is very important. It gives your baby a greater opportunity to be healthy and happy months before they are even born.

About the Author: Sandy Jamieson has a degree in Honours Sociology and a diploma in Early Childhood Education. She is also a member of the Association for pre- & perinatal psychology and health, and has taken a platform in the community to bring awareness to the public on the importance of prenatal bonding. Her passion for prenatal bonding began during the creation of a keepsake baby book that focuses on positive pregnancy. "Zaida Baby - My First Keepsake" was created to change the lives for future generations of children. Visit www.zaidababy.com/myfirstkeepsake for more information.