Stanford research reveals the powerful role of a mother’s voice in premature babies’ development
In the soft hum of the NICU, a mother’s voice can reach farther than anyone might imagine.
For babies born weeks too early, those gentle words, stories, or lullabies are more than comforting. A new Stanford Medicine study, published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, shows that hearing a mother’s voice helps premature babies develop the brain pathways that support language.
The science behind a mother’s voice
“This is the first causal evidence that a speech experience contributes to brain development at this very young age,” said lead author Dr. Katherine Travis, who conducted the research at Stanford Medicine and now teaches at Weill Cornell Medical College.
Her team studied how recordings of mothers reading affected premature babies still in the hospital. In the first randomized controlled trial of its kind, researchers found that infants who regularly heard their mothers’ voices showed stronger development in a key language-processing area of the brain. MRI scans revealed greater maturation in the left arcuate fasciculus, a white matter pathway essential for understanding and producing language.
“Babies were exposed to this intervention for a relatively short time,” said study co-author Melissa Scala, MD, a clinical professor of pediatrics and a neonatologist at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford.
“In spite of that, we were seeing very measurable differences in their language tracts. It’s powerful that something fairly small seems to make a big difference.”
Babies in the study listened to their mothers’ recorded readings for about 160 minutes each night over several weeks. Compared with infants in the control group, those who heard the recordings showed significantly more mature white matter in the left language tract.
Why this matters for preemies and their parents
Premature babies often spend weeks or months in the hospital and hear fewer familiar voices than they would in the womb. Many parents cannot stay at the bedside around the clock, which can feel heartbreaking. This study offers hope: even when parents are away, their recorded voices can still reach their babies and support healthy brain development.
“We’ll always support parents visiting and talking to their babies in person as much as they can,” Scala said, noting that in-person visits also offer opportunities for parents to hold their babies skin to skin, which confers its own neurodevelopmental benefits.
The power of sound and familiarity
Hearing begins in utero at about 24 weeks of gestation. By the time a full-term baby is born, they already recognize their mother’s voice and the rhythm of her language. Those sounds help the brain organize itself for communication.
For preemies who miss that stage, hearing their mother’s voice in the hospital can serve as a gentle substitute. Every story, song, or word helps their brain connect language and emotion in ways that last well beyond infancy.
What parents can take away from this research
- Talk, sing, or read aloud daily. Your voice stimulates early language pathways and provides comfort, even before your baby understands words.
- ● Ask your NICU team about voice playback options. Many hospitals now support parent-voice recording programs modeled after this study.
- Do not worry about sounding perfect. It is the rhythm and familiarity of your voice that matters most.
- Remember that connection takes many forms. Whether in person or through a recording, your words help your baby grow.
Love, literally wired in
In the quiet of a hospital room, a mother’s voice becomes more than a sound. It shapes the earliest connections inside her baby’s brain. For parents navigating the NICU or caring from afar, this research offers reassurance.
Your voice matters. It is part of your baby’s growth, their comfort, and their future.
Sources:
- Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 2025. “Listening to mom in the neonatal intensive care unit: a randomized trial of increased maternal speech exposure on white matter connectivity in infants born preterm.”
source https://www.mother.ly/news/mothers-voice-preemies-brain-development/
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