Amsterdam, July 15: The short-term memory of a foetus begins functioning at 30 weeks, Dutch gynaecologists have found, according to a report Tuesday. Gynaecology Professor Jan Nijhuis and his team at the Maastricht Medical Centre teaching hospital used sound as well as touch stimulation on the unborn baby’s legs to discover when the human memory would begin to function.
They found that after a baby had heard a certain noise or felt a certain touch several times, it would recognize it the next time it happened.
“We have made another step forward towards the understanding the development of the unborn child,” Nijhuis said.
The results of the study are to be published in the US medical journal Child Development on Wednesday.
–Agencies