Letter To A Mother-to-be
Congratulations on the impending arrival of your
child. Since I had my last baby 28 years ago,
there have been a lot of studies regarding the
world of the unborn and how we can influence it.
It has been found that an unborn child can hear
quite well from about 23 weeks gestation and
that what it hears can influence its thoughts
and reactions- even after birth! These days it
is not considered silly to talk to your unborn
child or to play music or even to read to it! In
light of my observations of my grandchildren
when they were first born, I think that this is
true. How else does one account for the fact
that a crying newborn can immediately recognize
its own mother's or father's voice and stop
crying?
I have experienced this myself with my grandson
Mitchell. He was born by caesarean section and I
was present in the operating theatre (his father
didn't make it in time) As his Mother had a
general anesthetic, she was of course unable to
hold him or talk to him. He was born screaming
and inconsolable! The nurses cleaned him up and
cut his cord and then placed him in my arms! I
said to him, "Hello Nanna's little boy!" and
immediately he opened his eyes and stopped
crying! It was awesome and my heart just burst
with love for him! Why did he recognize my
voice? you ask. His Mother had had a very
problematic pregnancy and I had nursed her
through the entire 9 months. With permission, I
had laid hands on his Mom's stomach and prayed
for him. I had talked to him on a daily basis
and encouraged his Mom to as well. She had not
bonded with my first grandchild and I tried to
encourage her with the beauty of pregnancy and
to bond with this child before it was born. It
worked- she mothered him well.
Now to the reason of this article. Our children
have a spirit before birth as we find in Luke
1:39-45 where the pregnant Mary visited
Elizabeth and the sixth month fetus, John the
Baptist, leapt in her womb when he heard Mary's
salutation! I believe that we can minister to
our unborn children by praying for them whilst
in utero, playing worship music, reading the
Word or having the Word played. As the brain
records memories from before birth, I believe
that a love for the LORD and His Word and
worship can be fostered from pre-natal days. As
a study showed, new mothers were asked if they
watched a particular soap opera throughout their
pregnancy. Of those that did, they were asked to
join in a simple experiment. When their babies
went through that fussy part of the day where
they play up, their Mothers played the theme
song of that soapie. Without fail, all the
babies settled!
If worldly things can influence our unborn
children, what a wonderful opportunity we have
in instilling a love for the things of God in
them right from the womb. I believe it starts in
the womb...science tells us the unborn do
respond to outside stimuli, I have experienced
it with Mitchell....what a wonderful start to a
new life!
