Sound Beginnings Pre-Natal Sound Delivery Device

We’ve certainly heard that playing classical music for your baby in the womb can help with neurological development, but admit to being somewhat skeptical. Is music really beneficial for baby? Or, is this just isolated research and/or the fad of the moment?  

As music fans who DJ’d college radio and go to as many live shows as possible, my wife and I decided to try the Sound Beginnings “sound delivery device.” We selected Pandora’s classical station and then plugged my wife’s iPhone into the belly band. Interesting, but we still weren’t completely convinced. However, midway through the third trimester, we read that playing music low in the belly can help turn or keep a baby in the head down position. That was enough to get us into the routine of playing music through the Sound Beginnings band. Note that the band is only recommended for use during the third trimester and for no more than 2 hours per day. Here is my list of pros and cons:

Pros

• Easy setup with built-in speakers and a headphone splitter that easily connect to any MP3 player, including an iPhone.
• Sound level automatically adjusts so that it is safe for baby.  You need to put your ear right up against the speakers to hear that they are actually emitting sound.
• Comfortable band (as I’ve heard from my wife) provides great support for belly and back in the last trimester.
• And, one unexpected benefit: a really interesting way to “conference call” with my daughter while in the womb as my phone calls would interrupt the Pandora stream and be broadcast from my wife’s iPhone into the speaker system at her belly.  Really great for a dad looking for more ways to interact with my unborn daughter! 

Cons

• The band includes a pocket for holding your MP3 player, but we rarely used it since we mostly played music off of  my wife’s iPhone, which was too bulky to keep against her pregnant belly. Plus, she was a bit concerned about affects the phone signal could have on baby and found pulling her phone out of the pocket inconvenient when taking a call or interacting with it in any other way.
• This is a belly band, so it’s not so easy to put on or take off in public as it needs to be stepped into and pulled up around the belly. Best used in the privacy of your home or you’ll need to anticipate using it if you want to use it during a bus or train commute.
• The packaging says that the band is machine washable, but the tag on the band itself recommends hand washing and hang drying. Having to hand wash anything automatically adds a bullet point to the con list.