Baby crying at birth It is one of the first signs that he is in good health, and it is believed that it is the first time a baby has ever cried. But a recent study may prove otherwise. Some scholars believe that infants are trained to cry while in the womb before they see the light of life; Which may indicate that speech skills began to develop much earlier than we thought.
Scientists used ‘common straw’ monkeys for the study. It is one of the monkeys that is characterized by its small size and its loud calls. It is similar to humans in many ways, which made it a subject of study and research; Especially if it comes to taking care of the young from the moment of birth, as the male and female alternate in this task.
Scientists photographed pregnant female marmosets two to three times a week Using ultrasound technology, starting from the 95th day of pregnancy until the day of birth 146, following which they examined the changes in the expressions of the fetus’s faces. The researchers found that expressions resembling crying were on the faces of the fetuses regarding two months before birth. This increased their confidence in the theory of the practice of crying in the womb.
One of the most interesting aspects In this study, it is the amount of movement and crying expressions of fetuses changing over time. For example, in the images of the initial surveys, the fetuses showed crying expressions only when they moved their heads, and with time the two movements gradually began to separate until the fetuses opened their mouths in a manner similar to crying without moving their heads at all. This is evidence that the evolution of speech skills in these primates, albeit not as complex as humans’ speech skills, begins to evolve over time even before they are even born.
Scientists are well aware that the findings of this existing study On marmosets, they cannot be fully applied to humans, but the similarities that make them qualified as a test tool suggest that these findings may be key to a new discovery that plays a role in improving human lives. Assessing the development of speech skills before birth, rather than following birth, can contribute to recognizing a child’s speech or movement problems very early.