2022, Vol. 4, Issue 1, Part C

Background: It was believed that an individual develops his or her personality, preferences and skills due to the influence of various external factors including environment, society, and culture. However, recent studies indicate that this development starts prenatally and that the activities that a mother indulges in, during pregnancy influences fetus personality and skills largely.

This study was undertaken to analyze researches and experiments conducted and published in indexed journals to understand the bond between the mother and her fetus and its implications on various aspects of an individual. Theories could then be postulated on probable ways to modulate the fetal preferences in utero for future effective functioning of the individual.

Discussion and Conclusion: Multiple studies have shown that the fetus develops an inclination for certain prosodic features while still in the womb, which influences their preferences for certain auditory and linguistic features later in life. There is compelling evidence that the flavor of food consumed by mothers during pregnancy and lactation, pave the way for the creation of a desire for a familiar taste in the offspring. Prenatal stress and depression in the mother can lead to major psychobiological changes in the baby and they were more likely to develop a similar temperament later in life. Many studies also showed a strong correlation between maternal brain activity and fetal cerebral blood flow, resulting in long and short-term neural changes in the fetus and eventually, the infant.

In conclusion the activities undertaken by the mother and her emotional state during pregnancy significantly influences certain aspects of a person’s personality, preferences and skills, which starts in utero and persists in later life.