Incredible footage shows babies singing in the womb

INCREDIBLE footage shows unborn babies as young as 16 weeks SINGING when music is played to them in the womb.

In a groundbreaking study, scientists have shown a foetus is able to detect sounds and respond by moving their mouth and tongue.

It is accepted an unborn baby’s ear is fully developed at week 16 of pregnancy, but until now experts did not believe a foetus could hear until week 18 at the very earliest.

Dr Marisa Lopez-Teijon, who led the study at the Institut Marques in Barcelona, said the findings show a foetus responding to music “as if they were trying to sing”.

The babies moved their jaws and stuck their tongues out in response to music Institut Marquès

Researchers suggest their study could rule out foetal deafness and allow parents to enhance foetal wellbeing and development.

Using the device developed for the study, known as Babypod, mums could begin to stimulate their unborn baby’s communication skills before they are born, suggesting babies can 'learn' while still in the womb.

The experiment was carried out on pregnant women between the 14th and 39th week of pregnancy. The team used ultrasound to observe the reaction of the foetus after hearing music.

They found 87 per cent of youngsters reacted to music with head and limb movements, with 50 per cent opening their jaws very wide and sticking their tongues out.