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| A Feeding Instinct Starts in the Womb | |
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| Hungry babies instinctively open their mouths as their mother’s breast or a bottle draws near. Now, researchers from England and France report that this instinct — the anticipation of touch — is a skill fetuses teach themselves in the womb. Studying scans at monthly intervals between 24 and 36 weeks of pregnancy, the scientists found that the youngest fetuses were more likely to touch their heads and that as they matured, they began to touch their mouths more. And by 36 weeks, the fetuses began to open their mouths before they touched them. | Hungry babies instinctively open their mouths as their mother’s breast or a bottle draws near. Now, researchers from England and France report that this instinct — the anticipation of touch — is a skill fetuses teach themselves in the womb. Studying scans at monthly intervals between 24 and 36 weeks of pregnancy, the scientists found that the youngest fetuses were more likely to touch their heads and that as they matured, they began to touch their mouths more. And by 36 weeks, the fetuses began to open their mouths before they touched them. |
| The anticipation of touch is a skill a baby uses during feeding, said Nadja Reissland, a psychologist at Durham University in England, who reports the findings along with colleagues in the journal Developmental Psychobiology. | The anticipation of touch is a skill a baby uses during feeding, said Nadja Reissland, a psychologist at Durham University in England, who reports the findings along with colleagues in the journal Developmental Psychobiology. |
| “We can’t say it’s a precursor to feeding, but it’s one element of feeding,” she said. “You actually need to open your mouth in order to feed.” | “We can’t say it’s a precursor to feeding, but it’s one element of feeding,” she said. “You actually need to open your mouth in order to feed.” |
| Premature babies may not have fully grasped this skill, Dr. Reissland said. The study could provide more information about what premature babies can do and what special care they need. | Premature babies may not have fully grasped this skill, Dr. Reissland said. The study could provide more information about what premature babies can do and what special care they need. |
| “The fetus might actually be learning the limits of its body, the texture of the body and what it feels like to be a person in the womb,” she said. | “The fetus might actually be learning the limits of its body, the texture of the body and what it feels like to be a person in the womb,” she said. |
| SINDYA N. BHANOO | SINDYA N. BHANOO |