[Reaction of the newborn infant less than 2 hours after birth to the maternal voice].

Our group provided in 1981 evidence of a transmission of external voices, particularly the mother's voice, into the pregnant uterus in the human. The present study was carried out in order to investigate the actual perception and memorisation of this particular feature of the fetal environment. 25 infant newborns, 20 within the first hour of life and 5 during the second hour, with no post-natal experience of the mother's voice, were submitted to five females voices. The mother's voice rank was determined by randomization. The stimulus consisted in the first name of the newborn, repeated three times, with no associated visual or tactile perception. The behavior of the newborn was studied on videotapes by three of the investigators, without knowledge of the rank of the mother. Three levels of response were determined: no reaction, weak response (segmental movement) and complete response (orienting movement). The behavioral responses to the mother's voice were significantly different (p less than 0.01). The mother induced 36% of complete responses, when the unknown voices induced only 12% (p less than 0.001). Because the intonation of the mother was found, as expected, significantly warmer, this factor had to be controlled. After exclusion of cold voices, a significant difference persisted (45% of complete responses to the mother versus 16% to the other women, p less than 0.02). A fetal perception of external sounds in demonstrated. Moreover, evidence of a prenatal experience of the mother's voice, possibly involved in the process of attachment, is provided.