Pregnancy Audio Belts
As we’ve discussed on Rational Moms before, companies aren’t just out there to help expecting parents; they’re also out there to flim-flam expecting parents. Some products are presented as the perfect way to make one’s baby smarter. However, many of these products do not have any science to back up their claims. The Washington Post had a great article on the newest craze: pregnancy audio belts.
Worn during pregnancy, the belts pipe in audio–everything from soothing sounds, to music, to foreign languages–for the developing fetus to hear. Some can even record the baby’s sounds or allow the mother to speak in to. These products, such as Bellysonic, BabyPlus, and Lullabelly, range in cost from $55 to $150.
The BabyPlus seems to be the most pretentious of the bunch (and the most expensive). The complete name is the “BabyPlus Prenatal Education System,” and their slogan is “Your womb…the perfect classroom.” Ewwwww. Can we please not talk about my womb in those terms? It makes me picture chalk and desks inside there. I hate to single them out, but, come on.
So, what’s the benefit? We don’t know. There’s no science behind these devices to show that they make a difference in fetal development. What’s the harm? Again, it’s not exactly clear but some experts have voiced concern. Janet DiPietro, a developmental psychologist at Johns Hopkins University who has studied fetal development for 20 years, said this:
“Fetuses are almost always asleep. Here, you are introducing a stimulus to them while they’re asleep. This is akin to taking your newborn, and when they’re asleep in a bassinet, blasting Mozart at them. That’s exactly what you’re doing with these devices.”
Our bodies already have the perfect environment for fetal development. Why do we keep trying to add unnecessary bells and whistles to what is already working? The article quotes an obstetrician-gynecologist, Joan Loveland:
“Do we really need our fetuses to be in a classroom, or is it enough for them just to be fetuses? Can’t we just appreciate that what nature is doing is so brilliant and so enormous that it’s enough? I do worry that this stress will rob people of the joy of being pregnant. And that’s a shame.”
Julie Said,
September 30, 2009 @ 8:06 pm
Baby Plus. When your baby just isn’t enough.
I saw this today, too and I was so happy that you wrote about it. I liked that the artlce also makes it clear that people can say any old thing on these product labels and they’re not regulated by the FDA. Or anyone else. I think in the US we are very used to the idea that some agency somewhere must be looking out for us, and so our consumers are sort of gullible.
I gotta come up with a scheme, and soon.
aag Said,
September 30, 2009 @ 8:13 pm
Yeah, I think the small business of GROWING BONES and MAKING A LIVER and CREATING EYEBALLS would be quite enough for any fetus to tackle, thank you very much.
Geez. And I thought butt-wipe warmers were bad.
NobleCaboose Said,
October 1, 2009 @ 6:18 pm
What I find most ridiculous about this product is the price! I made my own out of $3 pair of headphones, an old t-shirt and some velcro. Total cost: $4 plus 2 hours of sewing (if I charged by the hour, it would cost $34). Basically I wanted see what would happen if I played music to my bump and I couldn’t get a pair of headphones to fit my belly. I didn’t know anyone actually made and marketed these things as educational tools. That’s just silly.