Section 3.1 Prenatal development

3.1. Behaviour of a fetus

Fetal behaviors that can be observed include:

•    Responding to sounds with heart rate changes, head turns, and body movements as early as 25 weeks.

•    Distinguishing between familiar and novel stimuli by 32^nd or 33^rd week.

•    Learning in the womb, as evidenced by infants remembering stimuli like maternal heartbeats, amniotic fluid odor, and stories heard prenatally.

•    Exhibiting individual differences in activity levels, with very active fetuses tending to become very active infants, and less active fetuses being more likely to have mental retardation.

•    Male fetuses are more physically active overall due to being awake more often, but activity levels are equal during wakefulness. Female fetuses are more responsive to external stimuli.