Читать книгу Infants and Children in Context - Tara L. Kuther - Страница 179

Until recent decades, it was widely believed that the newborn was perceptually immature—blind and deaf at birth. Developmental researchers now know that the newborn is more perceptually competent than ever imagined. For example, both taste and smell are well developed at birth. Taste appears to function well before birth because research has shown that fetuses swallow sweetened amniotic fluid more quickly than bitter fluid (Ventura & Worobey, 2013). Newborns can discriminate smells and calm in response to the scent of amniotic fluid and other familiar smells (Neshat et al., 2016; Rotstein et al., 2015). The visual capacities of the newborn are more limited and focused primarily on the near environment. Newborn vision is blurry and best at about 18 inches away—the typical distance to a parent’s face when holding the infant.

The most remarkable newborn capacities for perception and learning are auditory in nature. Pregnant women often report that they notice fetal movements in response to a loud sound like a car horn or a door slamming. The fetus responds to auditory stimulation as early as 23 to 25 weeks after conception (Hepper, 2015). By 32 to 34 weeks, the fetus responds to the mother’s voice as indicated by a change in heart rate (Kisilevsky & Hains, 2011). Prior to birth, the fetus can discriminate voices and speech sounds (Granier-Deferre, Ribeiro, Jacquet, & Bassereau, 2011). At birth, newborns show preferences for speech sounds, their mother’s voice, their native language, and even stories and music heard prenatally (Moon, Cooper, & Fifer, 1993). Moreover, from birth, the newborn is an active listener, paying attention to sounds and naturally taking advantage of opportunities to learn (Vouloumanos, Hauser, Werker, & Martin, 2010).