Michelle Leclaire O'Neill, Ph.D., and author of Meditations for Pregnancy: 36 Weekly Practices for Bonding with Your Unborn Baby is quite the expert when it comes to pregnancy. She's recently been endorsing the significance of bonding with your baby during pregnancy.
"Bonding with your baby during pregnancy is important for your relationship, and will help you get ready for parenthood," she claims.“It helps mothers discover feelings they didn't even know they had."
Developing a relationship with your baby while pregnant can do wonders for the baby, and can benefit you as well!
If you're curious about how you can spend quality time with your unborn baby, O'Neill has made it easy with some simple tips. Here are her 4 most highly recommended ways to do some in-utero baby bonding:
1. Listening to music
You've probably heard a lot about listening to music while pregnant. Some researchers say that the studies supporting intellectual benefits are inconclusive at best.
While that may be true, O'Neill believes that even if it won't make your baby smarter, it can help you and your baby bond. Listening to music with your baby can soothe and relax them. "Any kind of calming music works," she claims, "but baroque, like Bach or Handel, might be best, since its heartbeat-like tempo is especially soothing."
2. Prenatal yoga/meditation
A lot of prenatal yoga and meditation tends to be more "mummy-centric", focusing on relaxing Mum. What you may not realise is that the uninterrupted time you dedicate to this activity also offers you tranquil bonding time with your baby!
“Sometimes a pregnant mother is so busy that the only time she has to relax is at the end of a yoga class,” O'Neill suggests.
ALSO READ: 10 simple ways of bonding with your mother-in-law
3. Massage
Since you've been pregnant, you (and about a hundred other people) have probably placed curious hands on your tummy. It's always exciting to feel your baby, and to feel how far along you are.
O'Neill suggests that lightly massaging or rubbing the belly can help you relax, while having a positive effect on the baby. “It calms the mum's whole body down, and the baby too," she says.
4. Having a conversation
Okay, so maybe "conversation" might be the wrong term, considering your baby isn't able to talk back to you. However, O'Neill believes that even if your baby "won’t understand the meaning of the words yet, the rhythm and the tone of your voice will be comforting regardless."
Try narrating what you are doing to your baby in a sweet, calming voice, or even asking him/her questions. Even just telling them sweet pleasantries, or singing to them will help build a strong relationship with your baby. It may seem strange to talk to your baby bump, but it's a great way to bond.
ALSO READ: Dads are now bonding with their premature newborns through 'kangaroo care'
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