Presented at the First International Congress of Pre and Postnatal Learning and Communication. Conference Hall, La Fe Hospital.28th June, 1996 in Valencia.
INTRODUCTION
Prenatal stimulation is a scientific field which has recently
begun to develop due to the radical change in thoughts about the foetus. Technological
developments such as the intrauterine photography, the sonograph, etc., have
made it possible to appreciate its capacity.
This developing being, considered to be until recently, shapeless, with no possibility of hearing or seeing, without any perception of touch or taste, lacking in any emotional feelings, is now seen as an individual and complete being who possesses all the basic requirements for learning. However, it is necessary for reliable studies to be carried out so that the efficiency of the prenatal stimulation may be proven, as well as the most ideal way to use it.
This has been our intention in carrying out a longitudinal study after using the Firstart Prenatal Stimulation System. The idea came about at a congress taking place in El Puig in July 1992. For the first time we heard about the possibility of advancing the psychological development before birth and we received these new ideas with the attitude of someone opening a hospital door to new comers but with a little amount of fear.
We decided to put into practice one of the methods there introduced, to scientifically prove the results with a Spanish sample. We chose the Firstart Prenatal Stimulation System for being the most accesible, also because the inventors gave us, from the very first moment, all kinds of facilities, motivated as they were by the great confidence and hopes they placed on it.
DESCRIPTION OF THE FIRSTART METHOD
The aim of the stimulation programme is to enhance the intellectual development of the foetus and child through musical stimulation during the prenatal stage. As well as to contribute to the baby´s physical and emotional well-being through the relaxation of the pregnant mother with particularly chosen classical pieces.
The Plaza and Alonso programme advises, thus, the pregnant woman to spend time relaxing listening to classical music whose cadence and rhythm is appropriate, and they propose some examples of the kind of music to select for this purpose.
Firstart includes eight tapes of violin music. This instrument has not been chosen by chance, on the contrary, it has been a careful selection, for the violin,, because of its harmonics richness, reaches the similar type of tone used by the mother and other adults when speaking to a baby.
We have all noticed when, on speaking to a baby or young child, we modify our language by using shorter words, easier and shorter sentences, as well as repeating the same thing over and over again. This is done instinctively and is correct for the baby´s necessities. This has been the second principle which has been taken into account in the making of this programme: the repetition of a short series of sounds followed by a silence, a pause. Some of the tapes, especially 1, 2, 7 and 8 use this pattern: three sounds followed by silence.
The cardiac rhythm is of great importance for the foetus, and for this reason the musical pieces created by Plaza are played with a metronome speed of 65 to 80.
The application follows the normal sequence of any learning process going from the easiest (the contents of tapes 1 and 2) to the most difficult.
PROCEDURE: Sample and instruments
Two groups were formed, a control group and an experimental group, who should fit into all the variables, excepting those variables which are to be compared. Although initially the sample was formed with more than 200 pregnant women in each group, later the groups became reduced by eliminating those who had not given birth in La Fe or due to experimental failings.
Both groups consisted of women who had gone to the University Hospital of La Fe in order to prepare the pregnancy.
Through Chi square tests it was confirmed that both groups were comparable in a series of variables,which if it had not being so, the results would not have been parallel. It was also confirmed that there were no significant differences in practically all of the explored variables. Therefore, in the two groups more than 90% were married or had a stable partner, there were only two single women and one divorced woman. More than half from both groups were first pregnancies and for the rest this was to be the second pregnancy. Only a small proportion from both groups had had previous miscarriages, and the instances of sterility or infertility were the exception. About 60% from both groups had continued to work during pregnancy. Most of them in the two groups had studied up to secondary education and about 30% had a university diploma or degree. In the fathers, about 70% had studied up to secondary education, 25% or a little more had a university diploma or degree. Only 15% in each group had suffered some sort of complication during pregnancy and about 20% during birth. There was an even distribution in both groups in the ways the birth had concluded, at birth Apgar 1 and 2, the beginning and length of the birth, time of delivery, age at birth, birth weight, as well as the type of relations between the pregnant woman with her father during her childhood and the relationship between both her parents.
Only significant differences were found in the type of relations between the pregnant woman and the mother, being the highest proportion in Category 1 ("good") in the control group (p = 0.0054). It was also noticed that a higher number of parents became separated during the pregnant women´s childhood in the experimental group (7 compared to 1). In any case, the slight differences favour the control group.
The control group prepared for a normal delivery in La Fe Hospital whilst the experimental group, as well as receiving birth preparation classes, also used the Firstart Prenatal Stimulation Method.
In order to avoid any suspicions amongst the pregnant women, the control group was formed in 1993 and the experimental group the following year. As the two groups did not at any time coincide in time, no discrimination could be felt by the control group.
The application of the Firstart method began with the experimental group when the pregnant woman was between the twenty-eighth and thirtieth week of pregnancy. The creators of this method together with the midwives in charge informed the women of their conditions as thought opportune.
After the birth, further data were collected as to the mothers´ work and job satisfaction, if there was home help, breast feeding, malformations of the baby, illnesses which the baby had had during the first six months and when. The observation Scale from 0 to 6 months (adapted from the Development Observation Scale by F. Secadas, 1988) was also applied.
No significant differences were found in the variable for employment nor job satisfaction. Most of the mothers had some help, either in the house or by way of a nursery either by a family member or otherwise. More cases of illness were found in the experimental group although they were very few, and there were only three cases of malformation in the control group. The proportion of mothers choosing to breast feed was slightly higher in the experimental group.
RESULTS
On seeing the different age average between the control group and the experimental group, for each of the items using the t for student test, significant differences have been obtained in favour of the experimental group in 22 behaviours on the Scale, which represents a total of 32%, a percentage which rises to 34% if only the items catalogued as normal from 0 to 6 months are taken into account. It must be observed that the Scale includes some items previously classified as normal in ages of more than six months if we are to check if there have been any improvements in our sample.
The activities and behaviour in the items where significant differences have been obtained to a level of 1% ( N=13 ) are the following:
The activities and behaviour where there have been significant differences to a level of 5% (N = 9) are the following:
On looking at all the items significant differences may be observed in the co-ordination behaviours of somatic sensory, gross and fine motor faculties, pre-speech faculty and some aspects of cognitive development. If we analyse the results month by month we can see that the number of differences are more abundant in the ages of 4, 5 and 6 months, growing slowly as the age rises.
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