ROME: (Web Desk) A team of neuroscientists from the University of Padua in Italy, together with CNRS and a colleague from Université Paris Cité, have obtained evidence that suggests that the neurological development of babies in the womb is influenced by the mother’s language and speech.

Experts’ research shows that while babies can hear their mother’s voice while they are in the womb, they can also hear other sounds such as music and general noise.

In addition, even after birth, they can recognise their mother’s voice and specific melodies related to her speech, but the effect of listening to these sounds on the neural development of the child’s brain has been little understood in the past.

In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the team conducted new research by applying EEG caps to newborns.

The research team’s experiment in Italy involved 33 newborns and their mothers, all of whom were native French speakers.

While studying the EEG results, the research team played audio of the story in French while the children slept.

The researchers found an increase in hearing ability in the babies, a finding the researchers say is evidence that exposure to a specific language while still in the womb can uniquely affect a baby’s brain.