When does learning begin? Supported by latest evidence by psychology and biology, science reporter and mother Annie Murphy Paul explains that our health and well being throughout our lives is crucially affected by the time spent in the womb. Therefore, as a pregnant woman, Paul recognized that the baby is shaped by the world that the mother exposes it to while still in the womb. I admire the fact that Paul conducted her research while she was pregnant because it could have potentially caused her a lot of worry if the evidence she found was not pleasurable.

Fetuses learn the sound of their mother’s voices starting around the 4th month of being in the womb as the voice reverberates through the body. The baby feels comfort in its mothers voice and consequently prefers this voice to everyone else’s, including any other female. From the moment of birth, the baby responds most to the individual who will most likely respond to it. This makes a lot of sense because human motive is based ultimately on love and for that reason I’ve been most attracted to anyone who is respectful to me. We are drawn to those who make us feel appreciated for who we are and nobody would do that more than our mothers who feel as though we are a part of them.

Fetuses are also being taught about the particular culture they’ll be joining. They are introduced to the culture even before birth. The overwhelming chaos and heart-pounding fear for their lives for those who were in New York on 9/11 had a colossal effect on pregnant women. Researchers discovered a biological marker of the vulnerability of PTSD. Even before birth, women are warning their children that it’s a wild world, telling them to be careful. This was hard for me to believe because children seem innocent, but perhaps the adorableness of infants comes from the fact that they have been damaged already and that makes them so much more beautiful.