New lease of life

•Why mother-foetal connection is crucial to development of good values, nation-building

Expectant mothers and their unborn babies in Oyo State are about to experience a new kind of care that could shape the future of child development in Nigeria. In this piece, IFEDAYO OGUNYEMI reports on how special training programme on prenatal and postnatal reading can lay the foundation of good values and reading culture among newborns and children.

IN a quiet but powerful shift, a new wave of hope is rising for expecting mothers and their unborn babies in Oyo State. A fresh approach to maternal and child care is introducing the idea that the journey to raising smarter and healthier children can begin long before birth; through something as simple as reading, singing, and talking to the unborn child.

Across public health facilities in Ibadan, the language of care is now expanding beyond medical check-ups, nutritional, mental, s3xual health advice. Mothers are being encouraged to bond with their babies by speaking and reading to them from as early as 16 weeks into pregnancy, as science has proven that during this period, the baby’s sense of hearing begins to form.

This idea, though new to many in Nigeria, is fast gaining ground. It is based on growing research which shows that babies who are exposed to voices, songs, and positive sounds while still in the womb tend to have stronger cognitive skills, better emotional connections (particularly with their mothers), and sharper social abilities after birth.

At the heart of this movement is the belief that a child’s learning does not begin on the first day of school or even the day of birth but rather in the womb. It is a call to action for mothers and families to intentionally nurture their child’s mind early, using their own voices as the first tools of education.

Beyond boosting brain development for the foetus, prenatal and postnatal reading is also being seen as a way to reduce stress for pregnant women, promote calmness, and strengthen the emotional ties between mother and child. Even fathers and siblings are encouraged to take part, turning pregnancy into a full family bonding experience as a few minutes of reading or singing each day could lay the foundation for a lifetime of love for learning, strong values, and resilience against negative influences that often catch young people unprepared.

Drawn from various health care centres in Ibadan, Oyo State, a group of care providers and professionals converged on Orogun axis of the state capital to learn the importance of creating these strong bonds and intelligence in babies by their mothers even before birth, one that could shape the future of child development in Nigeria.

Organised by Joint Chamber International (JCI) Ibadan Elite in collaboration with Bookworms Empowerment Foundation (BEF), the four-day workshop provides insights and resources on the importance of reading, singing, and talking to babies in the womb to the participants.

While prenatal and postnatal reading initiatives are already well-established in countries like the United States, Germany, and Canada, the concept is only just taking root here and is believed that it will give mother-child connections a new lease of life, particularly at a time where there growing concerns over children’s exposure to harmful media and social pressures.

Building cognitive development of the foetus and laying the foundation for teaching children to love books and language even before they are born could open a new chapter for education and values-building

Many of the healthcare workers, who attended the workshop, described the training as an eye-opener.

The Malaria Focal Person and Chief Community Health Officer at Ibadan North Local Government, Mrs Grace Omobolanle Dotun-Fasasi, said she learned that babies can feel their parents’ voices and touches from the womb, which can help their brain development and emotional bonding.

Dotun-Fasasi explained that introducing prenatal reading into antenatal care would not only strengthen the connection between mother and child but also encourage positive behaviour and strong values as the child grows.

She stressed that even fathers should join by reading or singing to their unborn babies to boost this bonding.

“For me, it is an eye opener, especially as a health worker, to tell pregnant mothers that they can start prenatal reading from the month of 16 weeks, by laying their hands upon the baby so that the baby can feel it. From what we have been taught, the baby can know when the mother is talking, or when the father is talking, or when they are singing song.

“In the last four days, we have been made to understand that, as health worker, we should sensitise mothers that come to our facility on how to do prenatal reading – even the husband can participate by reading and singing to the baby while still in the uterus because the baby has the ability to hear,” she said.

Speaking on the benefits of the initiative, Dotun-Fasasi said: “There will be cognitive development and the baby’s brain will be able to develop even right from the pregnancy and after the baby has been delivered, it will help the baby’s performance; the brain development will be there and there will be a good interpersonal relationship between the mother and the baby, and such a baby tends to develop good values and not become a riffraff when older. I believe if we can cultivate the habits of prenatal and postnatal reading right from our facilities, I think it will help our community, state, and Nigeria as a whole.”

She added: “If you introduce reading to a baby from prenatal and postnatal stages, such a child will tend to get closer to his books to read when he or she is supposed to read. Such a baby will not be easily be exposed to or swayed by negative contents on social media. I believe it will greatly boost the love for reading in the baby.

“Prenatal reading is not only for the elite. Those who cannot read and write can as well participate using their native languages. For instance, when you read your Bible to the baby in the uterus, there is a connection that has been established and such a person will most likely grow to become a good person.”

 

‘Prenatal reading can reduce mother’s stress, anxiety during pregnancy’

For Mrs Oluwabukola Elizabeth Olusola of Oke Itunu Primary Health Care Centre, the training also showed how prenatal reading can help reduce the mother’s stress and anxiety during pregnancy.

Her plans, after the training, include introducing both English and Yoruba storybooks at her centre, making it easy for mothers of all literacy levels to practice prenatal reading.

During a chart with Sunday Tribune, Olusola said, “By 16 to 20 weeks, the baby in the uterus should be able to hear the mother’s voice. By then, their cognitive development is developing and they are able to know and familiarise with sounds. As such, they can be familiar with their mother’s voice and differentiate it from that of a stranger.

“Aside from that, prenatal reading reduces stress of the mother by the time they are reading to the foetus. It makes them calm and reduces their anxiety about delivery or any stress they could be facing. Prenatal reading also helps in parental bonding and the mother and the baby will be very close before and after delivery. Prenatal reading does not end there but should continue post-delivery where it becomes postnatal reading and preschool reading when such a child grows and starts school.”

On her post-training plans, Olusola said: “When I get to my facility, I will be able to demonstrate to pregnant women and enlighten them more. I will also sensitise my community and create awareness about prenatal reading so that those in the community will be able to inculcate it in their daily activities. They can start with five or 10 minutes of reading before they start doing it for a long period of time.

“Like I said earlier, I’m going to get Yoruba and English storybooks so that people can have different languages to pick from.”

The organisers and participants hope that with enough support from government and communities, the new knowledge will spread across Oyo State and eventually throughout Nigeria, giving unborn babies a head start in life through something as simple yet powerful as a mother’s voice.

Chairman of the project and member of JCI Ibadan Elite, Temitope Adeyemi, said the goal of the workshop is to help pregnant women and new mothers communicate better with their babies. He noted that research from around the world shows babies spoken to in the womb grow up to be smarter and more confident.

Adeyemi also shared that this first phase of the programme is just the beginning as JCI Ibadan Elite plans to expand the project later in the year, reaching even more healthcare workers and pregnant women with support from the Oyo State Primary Health Care Board.

“Our major goal is to help pregnant women and new mothers communicate with their babies much more, because we did the research and we got to find out that babies in the womb that were spoken to intentionally have better cognitive and auditory senses, and they also become geniuses from experience.

“Research from all over the world shows that when babies are spoken to intentionally while they are in the womb become very intelligent. That is the idea but we are going through the nurses and the matrons to help pass this knowledge across to the pregnant women and the new mothers, because they always have first-hand contact with them,” Adeyemi explained.

Beyond teaching the care workers, Adeyemi hopes that the beneficiaries of the message can establish themselves using this concept, saying “If you follow the training, they were tested, got to share their stories, and they got certified. Now this is beyond just knowledge, it is something that becomes part of them and they can even become professionals in that aspect, and that’s why we are certifying them.”

He also called on the government to provide more support for the initiative to spread across the country with the aim to change the lives of newborns positively.

 

Why prenatal reading must be embraced nationwide ―Don

The lead trainer, Professor Andrew Okwilagwe, said prenatal and postnatal reading has long been practised in countries like the US, Canada, and the UK, where it has contributed to raising intelligent and creative children. He believes that starting such a programme in Nigeria will help nurture better values in future generations.

Professor Okwilagwe, an advocate of prenatal and preschool reading, who has authored books on the idea, said: “As you are here with me, what you are today is based on some of the values you got from your parents and immediate environment. The seed was planted and nurtured and it grew well. That’s exactly that’s what the prenatal is all about. Prenatal has to do with preparation of the child right from the womb by reading aloud to the child.

“Remember the connection between the child and the mother is very intimate and has to do with the natural biology, chemistry, psychology and emotions. All this happens to a baby in the womb. The role the placenta place is so wonderful and so mystical. So, it is when a woman is pregnant and she reads based on the fact that the child in the womb hears external voices and sounds.

“We are not just saying it here. The Bible, Quran and research acknowledge it. From age zero, you have laid the foundation for the values the baby must learn till around ages 6, 7 or 8. This helps to cultivate their mind.”

He also said his foundation will not rest until the messages transcend state barriers and became a nationwide phenomenon, calling on all stakeholders, particularly the government and communities, to provide enabling environment for it to reach “as many nurses, care professionals and pregnant women” as possible.

“If the awareness is done properly, the inquisitiveness, excitement, and interest will be there. People need certain things they don’t know that they need or don’t know how to go about it. That is why we are also using the media to pass this message across.

“What we are doing here is for the benefit of every person and it is limitless. Through it, care workers can expand their knowledge while they teach pregnant women. Reading is not the only way, they can sing their native songs or talk to them intentionally and babies listen; this has been proven as fact and mystery.”

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