Seeding Zen in the womb

Intrauterine bonding: the phrase does sound intimidating. But quiz many new mothers in the city and you’ll wonder at how easily it trips off their tongues, how much a part of their world it is.

The perception that an unborn child begins not just to see and taste but also to learn in utero has been cause for not just research but excitement among the health and science community for years now. The last couple of years have seen that same elation build, not as obscure scientific jargon but as a concept that empowered as it excited. For a growing number of pregnant women, 2009 was the culmination of a build-up over preceding years, one that highlighted intrauterine bonding as an idea whose time had come.

Consider these happy mummies.

“I made my babies listen to classical music when I was five months pregnant,” says Delnaz Damania, mother of twin girls. “I felt the music would not only soothe them but perhaps stimulate their brain cells.”

“I used to listen to a lot of Michael Jackson during my pregnancy. People told me classical music is good for babies, but I’m an MJ fan,” says model and television personality Parizad Kolah Marshall. “Now that my daughter’s out, she sways to MJ more than to any other music.”

“My mother insisted that I speak to my unborn child. She used to speak to both Malaika and me in the womb,” says actor Amrita Arora Ladak, in her ninth month of pregnancy. “Apparently we knew her voice instantly when we came out. Now, my friends and family speak to my baby…”

Of course, the idea that one can relate to an unborn person does not go down easily with some. “It’s more of a Western concept,” says Asha Pratap*.

But despite scepticism in some quarters, in an age of competitiveness, the idea of empowering a child early is tempting. Not that the concept of intrauterine bonding hasn’t been around for some time. Breakthroughs in international research had ensured many takers as far back as the eighties, even beyond. Physician Dr Thomas Verny along with John Kelly wrote a path-breaking book, The Secret Life of the Unborn Child, after six years of research. This was published in 1981, but is still popular among many mothers-to-be, if not as universally read as the cult What to Expect When you’re Expecting.

It emphasises what a number of mothers now believe: that parental choices and response to an unborn can shape the physical and emotional wellbeing of the baby far into its future.
While reiterating that the jury is still out on absolute scientific evidence to back this idea, many in the medical community believe that early exposure to music is good for the mother, not just the baby. “Listening to music can soothe the mother, and a happy mother is always more relaxed and calm, which in turn will help the foetus,” says gynaecologist Dr Usha Saraiya.

So how did moms-to-be gain access to this idea in the first place and, having done so, which methods did they use to further their awareness? Many got wind of it in the most obvious and effective way: by word of mouth. “Awareness of how a baby develops is very high nowadays,” says Damania. “All mothers want to understand every stage of childbirth. And my friends told me that a baby’s development as a person begins very early. Also, my brother had done a course in psychology — and he told me about how I must stimulate them even while in the womb.” 

Young mothers believe in being clued in, and in a super-connected age there is no shortage of information for those who seek it.

What’s intriguing is that no matter how contemporary an idea appears, if one researches well enough, one can unearth its existence in some form in Indian mythology.  In the Mahabharata, Arjuna’s son Abhimanyu, yet in his mother’s womb, learns about how to penetrate the seemingly unconquerable war formation, the Chakravyuha. He overhears Krishna explaining the war strategy to his mother Subhadra. And utilises the knowledge as a young man.
Cut to circa 2009: The medical community is treading cautiously around endorsing the idea. Meanwhile, many mothers are embracing intrauterine bonding as a mantra.  Why not follow the example set in our ancient texts?

* Name changed