NEW YORK, Nov 29: Expectant mothers can potentially give their babies a headstart in learning to talk through regular chatting during pregnancy, according to recent research led by Paris Descartes University in France and the University of Padova in Italy.

The study indicates that unborn infants begin learning the language spoken to them before birth, with heightened brain activity observed in newborns exposed to their prenatal language. While the research doesn't specify the timing of language receptivity in the womb, it underscores the importance of prenatal language experiences in shaping the functional organization of an infant's brain.

The study, conducted on 33 newborns with native French-speaking mothers, utilized encephalography (EEG) to monitor brain waves at the Robert Debré Hospital in Paris between one and five days after birth. During the experiment, researchers played gentle audio of the children’s story "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" in three languages – French (native language), Spanish (a rhythmically similar unfamiliar language), and English (a rhythmically different unfamiliar language).

Newborns displayed enhanced neural oscillations linked to language processing abilities when exposed to their native language, indicating familiarity with the primary language spoken in the womb. The study emphasizes the role of prenatal language experience in shaping the infant's brain and suggests that mothers talking regularly during pregnancy, including directly to their baby bumps, can provide a learning boost.

However, it notes that while prenatal language experience supports language development, it does not solely determine developmental outcomes in children.