Maybe you’ve already guessed it by his movements, but baby has emotions and moods! He can feel startled at a loud noise, or he can smile happily in his comfortable, warm home. And what’s more, baby can feel a change in your mood! Mama and baby are so closely connected that he picks up on your emotional state.
At about week 31, baby becomes very active. He’ll push you, turn from side to side, and fidget. He’ll smile, frown, yawn, stick out his tongue, and suck his thumb. Most of these gestures are just reflexes, but studies suggest they may also be expressions of emotional states, such as joy or sadness [1, 2].
Let’s look at three main categories of what baby feels.
Stress and scary noises
When mama is nervous or afraid, her body releases cortisol into her bloodstream. (Cortisol is one of our main stress hormones.) It’s then transmitted to baby via the placenta . High levels of cortisol negatively impact baby’s growth and healthy physical development [3, 4, 5].
Now, we know stress is unavoidable in life, so it’s worth only focusing on what you can control. Skip the horror movie and the death metal playlists. Loud noises penetrate the abdominal wall, and baby can hear them. From about week 20, he’ll react to unpleasant and frightening sounds by shuddering or moving his arms and legs [6].
Calm and pleasant emotions
On the other hand, calm music and lullabies will relax baby [7]. He can hear you singing, but he can also feel you singing through the vibration in your bones and tissues. His body will vibrate along with yours, leading to a pleasant shared emotional state and bonding.
Pain
At week 7 of development, baby begins developing pain receptors on his body, which cover his body by week 20. At this point, however, the brain has not fully developed its pain-receiving and interpreting mechanisms, so the baby will experience discomfort at the affected site only. When he pulls away an arm or a leg, it’s a reflex.
At week 26, the brain has fully developed its mechanism for pain. The pain signals will now reach and get a response from the brain [8, 9], and baby will experience pain in the same way as children and adults.
