A Father's Voice
By: Dr. Adam Thomas Huber Md.
There is extensive literature describing the unique role a mother's
voice has on infant bonding and development. Indeed, neonates within
the first two days of birth show preference for a maternal voice, a
process that presumably starts to develop prenatally.(1) In contrast,
the degree to which an infant recognizes the paternal/fatherly voice, and what
role that plays, is much less well understood, mostly because it is
poorly studied. Nevertheless, there is evidence to support the concept
that a male voice, especially a father's voice, can soothe newborns
and increase bonding between father and infant.
Infants clearly prefer their mother's voice to unfamiliar women’s
voices (2,3) and male voices, including the voice of their father.(4)
Neonates respond to the fathers voice, however, if they hear the
voice frequently enough in utero and in early life.(5)Indeed, prenatal,
neonatal, and infant children respond to the fathers voice.(6)
Mothers and fathers speech appears to have differing and
complementary effects on language development in children.(7) Across
studies, fathers tend to use less language than mothers with their
children; however, when “talkativeness” is controlled for, fathers
voices are important for childhood development.(7)
The prosody of maternal speech appears to be key to infant response.
Six-week-old infants, for example, recognize their mother’s voice when
she speaks with high inflection, but not when she speaks in a
monotone.(8) Therefore, fathers can increase infant soothing and bonding
by increasing the descriptive content of their speech, using higher
and frequent inflection, and talking to the child in utero and soon
after birth.
References
1. Fifer WP, Moon CM. The role of mother's voice in the organization
of brain function in the newborn. Acta Paediatr Suppl. Jun
1994;397:86-93.
2. Kisilevsky BS, Hains SM, Lee K, et al. Effects of experience on
fetal voice recognition. Psychol Sci. May 2003;14(3):220-224.
3. DeCasper AJ, Fifer WP. Of human bonding: Newborns prefer their
mothers' voices. Science. 1980;208(4448):1174-1176.
4. Ward CD, Cooper RP. A lack of evidence in 4-month-old human infants
for paternal voice preference. Dev Psychobiol. 1999;35(1):49-59.
5. Lee GY, Kisilevsky BS. Fetuses respond to father's voice but prefer
mother's voice after birth. Dev Psychobiol. Jan 2014;56(1):1-11.
doi:10.1002/dev.21084
6. Cautilli J, Dziewolska H. Brief report: The reinforcing effects of
paternal verbal stimulation and gentle pushing on kicking behavior in
a 35 week old in-utero fetus. The Behavior Analyst Today.
2005;6(3):160.
7. Rondal JA. Fathers' and mothers' speech in early language
development. Journal of Child Language. 1980;7(02):353-369.
doi:doi:10.1017/S0305000900002671
8. Mehler J, Bertoncini J, Barriere M. Infant recognition of mother's
voice. Perception. 1978;7(5):491-497.
By: Dr. Adam Thomas Huber Md.
There is extensive literature describing the unique role a mother's
voice has on infant bonding and development. Indeed, neonates within
the first two days of birth show preference for a maternal voice, a
process that presumably starts to develop prenatally.(1) In contrast,
the degree to which an infant recognizes the paternal/fatherly voice, and what
role that plays, is much less well understood, mostly because it is
poorly studied. Nevertheless, there is evidence to support the concept
that a male voice, especially a father's voice, can soothe newborns
and increase bonding between father and infant.
Infants clearly prefer their mother's voice to unfamiliar women’s
voices (2,3) and male voices, including the voice of their father.(4)
Neonates respond to the fathers voice, however, if they hear the
voice frequently enough in utero and in early life.(5)Indeed, prenatal,
neonatal, and infant children respond to the fathers voice.(6)
Mothers and fathers speech appears to have differing and
complementary effects on language development in children.(7) Across
studies, fathers tend to use less language than mothers with their
children; however, when “talkativeness” is controlled for, fathers
voices are important for childhood development.(7)
The prosody of maternal speech appears to be key to infant response.
Six-week-old infants, for example, recognize their mother’s voice when
she speaks with high inflection, but not when she speaks in a
monotone.(8) Therefore, fathers can increase infant soothing and bonding
by increasing the descriptive content of their speech, using higher
and frequent inflection, and talking to the child in utero and soon
after birth.
References
1. Fifer WP, Moon CM. The role of mother's voice in the organization
of brain function in the newborn. Acta Paediatr Suppl. Jun
1994;397:86-93.
2. Kisilevsky BS, Hains SM, Lee K, et al. Effects of experience on
fetal voice recognition. Psychol Sci. May 2003;14(3):220-224.
3. DeCasper AJ, Fifer WP. Of human bonding: Newborns prefer their
mothers' voices. Science. 1980;208(4448):1174-1176.
4. Ward CD, Cooper RP. A lack of evidence in 4-month-old human infants
for paternal voice preference. Dev Psychobiol. 1999;35(1):49-59.
5. Lee GY, Kisilevsky BS. Fetuses respond to father's voice but prefer
mother's voice after birth. Dev Psychobiol. Jan 2014;56(1):1-11.
doi:10.1002/dev.21084
6. Cautilli J, Dziewolska H. Brief report: The reinforcing effects of
paternal verbal stimulation and gentle pushing on kicking behavior in
a 35 week old in-utero fetus. The Behavior Analyst Today.
2005;6(3):160.
7. Rondal JA. Fathers' and mothers' speech in early language
development. Journal of Child Language. 1980;7(02):353-369.
doi:doi:10.1017/S0305000900002671
8. Mehler J, Bertoncini J, Barriere M. Infant recognition of mother's
voice. Perception. 1978;7(5):491-497.