Here’s a product you might not have identified for your baby registry: A device that delivers some fresh beats right to your unborn child. And we mean, right to your unborn child.
It’s Babypod. Described very helpfully by its product marketers as “a small intravaginal device.” A device that is a speaker that pregnant women insert into their vaginas.
Before you flinch, ask yourself this: Do you want to be a good mom, or not?
That’s right. Just insert the “small intravaginal device” that is the Babypod, plug that pod jack into your smartphone, and turn the tunes on and up! Because baby’s first dance party shouldn’t rely on Michael Jackson hits being stymied by that darn abdomen, a known muffling layer. No, music for your developing babe must be transmuted as clearly as possible to that room of a uterus.
Spanish gynecology clinic Institut Marquès created Babypod after its own study showed that fetuses can detect sounds starting at 16 weeks. A video on Institut Marquès website shows a fetus listening to music transmitted through the vagina, “moving their mouth and tongue, as if they were trying to speak or sing.”
And Babypod’s auxiliary earphones allow mom or dad to hear the same sounds at the same time as the baby. According to the product website, some expecting moms use this intrauterine device during their ultrasound scan appointments.
At first I was nervous … But despite these initial fears, I never stopped being excited at watching my baby react to the music and we both enjoyed the experience together,” says Andrea. “The first image I saw on the monitor was my baby smiling. I think she likes it! And when she started mouthing and ‘singing’ it was amazing. I noticed how she moved more than before, gave me more kicks, it was great. The truth is that it has been a great experience, strange and exciting at the same time.
All I know for sure is I hope my pregnant niece receives this vaginal speaker system at her baby shower. Because yes, Babypod claims this is a sound revolution: “The difference between music via the vagina and via the abdomen. The only way the music can really reach the baby is vaginally.”
Because I can’t wait to ask my new great-niece or nephew what they thought of the new Adele album when they heard it at week 20. Did Adele have them with the word hello? Or did she (or he?) prefer heavy metal?
Stay tuned. And wait for the first Babypod users to give us the scoop on both sound quality and personal song preference. The pod kit, which includes Babypod, auxiliary headphones, case, satin bag, user's manual and warranty, is available on the company's website for $135.48.
