Exposure to a movie

At the Royal Hospital for Women in Sydney, Australia, Professor Inez Bacelo Correia studied 60 pregnant women when they were 36 and 38 weeks pregnant, during a two-hour ultrasound examination.  The women were assigned to four groups, the first three of which watched a 20-minute emotional segment of the popular film Sophie’s Choice. The fetuses were continually monitored in their state of active sleep.  The babies of the group that watched the segment showed significant changes in their motor and heart activities.  The babies of the remaining group that watched a different, serene film did not show any reaction whatsoever. The study proves that babies at full term have a developed ability to respond to the emotional stimuli of their mothers.