Bebe Sounds Be005 User Manual
Prenatal Gift Set
Juego de Regalo Prenatal
Model #BE005
Instruction Manual
Manual de Instrucciones
www.bebesounds.com
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Please Read the Following to Enjoy Our Product..................................................4
SECTION I:
LISTENING TO YOUR UNBORN BABY
Introduction..............................................................................................................................5
Contents.....................................................................................................................................6
Identifying the Fetal Sounds You Will Hear...............................................................7
When You Will Hear These Sounds...............................................................................7
Prenatal Heart Listener® vs. Doppler............................................................................8
Record Your Baby's Sounds and Your Own Heartbeat........................................8
Instructions for Listening to Your Unborn Baby......................................................9
Instructions to Record Your Baby's Sounds............................................................11
Instructions to Record and Email
Your Baby's Sounds with Your Computer.................................................................11
SECTION II:
TALKING & PLAYING MUSIC TO YOUR UNBORN BABY
Introduction.............................................................................................................................12
How Your Unborn Baby Develops................................................................................13
How Your Unborn Baby's Brain Develops................................................................14
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Research Findings..............................................................................................................15
Instructions for Playing Music to Your Unborn Baby..........................................17
Playing Music to Your Newborn Baby....................................................................19
Instructions for Talking, Singing, and Reading to Your Unborn Baby.........19
Frequently Asked Questions..........................................................................................20
Endnotes.................................................................................................................................21
Schedule of Music Played..............................................................................................22
SECTION III:
ADDITIONAL PRODUCT INFORMATION
Tips for Using the Prenatal Heart Listener®...........................................................23
Care and Cleaning..............................................................................................................23
Troubleshooting...................................................................................................................24
Technical Specifi cations..................................................................................................26
Disclaimer...............................................................................................................................27
Limited Product Warranty...............................................................................................27
Also Available from BébéSounds®.............................................................................30
En Español............................................................................................................................32
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PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING TO ENJOY OUR PRODUCT
• Please have patience. This product requires a little time but the
results are wonderful. You should start using it at the begining of your
third trimester.
• What you will hear through our Prenatal Heart Listener® will be the
natural sounds of your baby. Your doctor uses Doppler ultrasound
equipment which produces artifi cial noise by turning movement into
sound. Our Prenatal Listener® amplifi es the actual sounds of your baby.
• The best time to listen is 3 to 4 hours after eating and when you
are relaxed.
• The Prenatal Heart Listener® must be used in a very quiet room.
• Placing the volume control at a low to moderate level will produce the
best results and avoid static.
• You might not hear your baby's sounds immediately so don't be
disappointed. The more you use the Prenatal Heart Listener®, the
better you will become at fi nding the sounds. Your baby's position will
also greatly affect your success. The best position is with your baby's
back to your belly button. Your success will also depend on how relaxed
you are. You may have to try several times before you will hear your
baby's sounds, particularly the heartbeat.
• Your baby's heartbeat does not sound like your own. A fetal heart beats
from 120-180 times per minute. It will sound like a soft, rapidly beating
drum or a galloping horse.
• You will also hear kick, hiccups, and nutrients passing through the
placenta. Kicks sound like uneven thumps, hiccups like two rapid
drumbeats, and the nutrients like a whooshing sound.
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• The provided headset is specially designed to be used with your
Prenatal Heart Listener®. Do not use any other headset.
• Our Prenatal Heart Listener® is completely safe for you and your baby.
It does not use any AC current, ultrasound, or radio waves.
SECTION I:
LISTENING TO YOUR UNBORN BABY
INTRODUCTION
Thank you for purchasing our BébéSounds® Prenatal Heart Listener®.
Please read the following material carefully to maximize your enjoyment
of this product.
It is important to understand that many factors affect what you will hear
with your Prenatal Heart Listener®. The position of your baby, your baby's
weight, your weight, your stage of pregnancy, and where you place the
Prenatal Listener® will all affect what you will hear.
For example, when listening for the fetal heartbeat, the sound will be
loudest in the third trimester and if your baby is positioned with her
back to your belly button. Your baby may naturally shift position, thereby
creating the situation where you will hear your baby one moment but
not the next. However, once you've passed the second trimester, your
baby will be growing very rapidly and you will hear the heartbeat and all
the other sounds on a much more regular basis.
Don't worry! It's quite normal that there will be times you will not be
able to hear your baby's sounds due to your baby's position or stage
of development. This is especially true of the heartbeat which is highly
dependent on your baby's position.
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CONTENTS
fig.1
prenatal heart listener
®
fi g.4
recording cable fetal speakers fetal microphone
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fi g.2
foam cover
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fi g.9
two headsets
0 prenatal & postnatal CD
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adapter
IDENTIFYING THE FETAL SOUNDS YOU WILL HEAR
You will hear kicks, hiccups, nutrients passing through the placenta,
and, of course, the heartbeat. Each one is distinctive and being able
to identify them will signifi cantly enhance your experience.
The best way to describe each sound is as follows:
Heartbeat: A very soft rapidly beating drum or a galloping horse
Kicks: A series of uneven thumps
Hiccups: Two rapid, soft drumbeats
Nutrients: A whooshing sound
A fetal heart beats from 120 to 180 times a minute while the heart of
a pregnant woman beats approximately 100 times a minute. Knowing
this should help prevent you from confusing your own heartbeat with
that of your baby's.
WHEN YOU WILL HEAR THESE SOUNDS
The fetal heartbeat, kicks and hiccups may be heard from the
beginning of your third trimester. You will need to listen very carefully
for your baby's heartbeat as it may be extremely diffi cult to hear it over
the beating of your own heart. The sound of your own bowels may
also interfere with your ability to hear the heartbeat. While the Prenatal
Heart Listener® is specially designed to tune out these sounds, they
can still get in the way. This is why the best time to listen is 3 to 4 hours
after a meal and when you are relaxed and have a slower heartbeat.
Remember, as your baby grows and gets stronger, so do the sounds
she creates. You will also become more familiar with the sounds so they
will be easier to identify.
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PRENATAL HEART LISTENER
®
VS. DOPPLER
You will notice that the sounds you hear through the Prenatal Heart
Listener® are different from those you hear at your doctor's offi ce. This
is because your doctor probably uses Doppler ultrasound equipment
which creates electronic noise based on movement. The Prenatal
Listener®, however, is designed to amplify the sounds naturally by using
the absolutely safe Bell stethoscope method of amplifi cation. Again,
the heartbeat heard through the Prenatal Listener® sounds more like the
soft, rapid beating of a drum, while the Doppler sound is more of a
gushing noise. Please keep in mind that it will take a little practice to
pick up this faint sound so listen very carefully.
RECORD YOUR BABY'S SOUNDS & YOUR OWN HEARTBEAT
With our recording cable and your own recorder you can record your
baby's sounds. We also encourage you to record your own heartbeat
prior to your baby being born. You will then be able to play it back to
your newborn after birth which may have a calming and soothing effect.
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INSTRUCTIONS FOR LISTENING TO YOUR UNBORN BABY
(See Figs. 10 and 11)
1. Remove the battery cover and install a new 9-volt battery (not included).
We recommend using a new battery as an old one will severely
®
interfere with the performance of your Prenatal Heart Listener
. Be
sure to match positive (+) to positive (+) and negative (-) to negative
(-). Replace the battery cover.
2. Insert the headset plug into either jack on the unit and put the
headset on. For two people to listen at the same time, insert the
second headset plug into the other jack.
3. Be sure the foam cover is in place on the listening cone. Hold
the listening cone to your stomach or lower back. Use the Prenatal
Listener® on bare skin in a quiet room.
4. Turn the Prenatal Heart Listener® on by turning the Power/Volume
control wheel to the right until you hear a click. The red power indicator
on the front will light up to indicate the unit is in the ON position.
5. Adjust the volume to optimize the listening level and amplifi cation.
Begin with a low to moderate level to avoid static.
6. Start by placing the listening cone two inches below and several
inches to the right of your belly button. Gently move the unit one inch
at a time to different places until you fi nd the best position for listening
to your baby's sounds. Before moving the Prenatal Listener®, turn
the volume level down to the lowest position to avoid the sound of
the cone moving against your skin.
7. When you are fi nished, turn the Power/Volume control wheel all the
way to the left until you hear a click to turn the Prenatal Listener® off.
The red power indicator light will turn off.
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fi g.10
power/volume control
battery compartment
power indicator
listening cone
foam cover
fi g.11
10
power/volume control
headset jack
INSTRUCTIONS TO RECORD YOUR BABY'S SOUNDS
(See Figs. 10 and 11)
1. Plug the L-shaped end of the recording cable into either jack of
the Prenatal Listener®. Plug the straight end into the line input of
your recorder (some portable recorders do not provide this input).
2. Set up your Prenatal Heart Listener® for listening to your baby.
3. Adjust the recording level on your recorder if necessary.
4. Hold the Prenatal Listener® very still and begin recording.
Remember, the sound of your heartbeat can have a very calming
and soothing effect on your baby. Your may want to record your
own heartbeat before your baby is born. You will then be able to
play back your recorded heartbeat to your baby after birth. We
recommend a 30-minute recording. NOTE: You will need to reduce
the volume when you record your own heartbeat since it is much
louder than that of your unborn baby's.
INSTRUCTIONS TO RECORD & EMAIL YOUR
BABY'S SOUNDS WITH YOUR COMPUTER
(See Figs. 10 and 11)
1. Plug the L-shaped end of the recording cable into either jack on the
Prenatal Listener®. Plug the straight end into the microphone jack on
your computer. This is indicated by a picture of a microphone near
the jack or the jack is color coded pink on the back of your computer.
2. On your computer, go to START, PROGRAMS, ACCESSORIES,
ENTERTAINMENT (or MULTIMEDIA), SOUND RECORDER.
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3. Set up your Prenatal Heart Listener® for listening to your baby.
4. Press the red recording button in the SOUND RECORDER program
to begin recording a one-minute sound fi le. You are now recording
your baby's sounds.
5. After one minute, the recording will fi nish. Name and save your
sound fi le in an appropriate folder. You can now email your sound
fi le to family and friends.
SECTION II:
TALKING & PLAYING MUSIC TO YOUR UNBORN BABY
INTRODUCTION
Research into the benefi ts of stimulating your unborn baby has been
done worldwide and it is now believed that your baby can learn while still
in your womb. While most of the attention in the past has focused on the
positive results of infant stimulation, it is very important not to overlook
the potential benefi ts of prenatal stimulation.
Studies have shown that a prenatally stimulated baby tends to display
faster visual, linguistic, and motor development than a baby who was
not stimulated. Research has also shown that the brain of the prenatally
stimulated baby tends to be more developed, thereby providing a better
foundation for the child to have a higher IQ and intelligence level.
Prenatal stimulation can come from playing classical music, talking,
or singing to your baby, and even rubbing your stomach. “The most
effective way to stimulate your baby and enhance her brain development
while still in the womb is through sound.”
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Dr. Norman A. Ravski, Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of
Obstetrics and Gynecology at Yale University School of Medicine, and
Attending Physician at Yale New Haven Hospital, has endorsed playing
classical music to your baby. In his endorsement, Dr. Ravski states,
“In-utero fetal acoustic stimulation has been shown to improve pregnancy outcomes as well as benefi t the growing fetus.” The BébéSounds®
Prenatal Gift Set enables you to direct our specially selected classical
music through your womb to your baby with our Fetal Speakers.
It is also believed that your newborn baby will recognize the voices
of her parents immediately after birth if they are heard while in the
womb. In addition to stimulating your baby, talking to her will help your
baby's father bond with her. Talk and sing to your unborn baby using
®
the BébéSounds
Fetal Speakers and Microphone, which will amplify
your voices so they will be heard over the other noises inside the womb.
When speaking to your baby, keep in mind that the fi rst step in your
baby's development of language skills is the recognition of intonations
so it is important for both parents to speak to their child. Although
the mother's voice tends to be more melodic and is constantly heard,
the father's voice is louder and deeper and penetrates the womb
more easily.
It is always a good idea to keep your doctor informed of what you
are doing during your pregnancy. Therefore, we encourage you to inform
your doctor that you will be stimulating your unborn baby with the
BébéSounds® Prenatal Gift Set.
HOW YOUR UNBORN BABY DEVELOPS
First Trimester: The embryo begins to develop; the head and limbs
start to form; head, body, and limbs begin to move (you won’t fell this
movement yet); nervous system that deals with equilibrium and spatial
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relations begins to develop; and heart begins to beat more strongly.
Second Trimester: The head develops more actively than the rest of
the body; eyes respond to light; key organs mature; fetus reacts to
music and loud noise; arms and legs are moving strongly enough so
you can feel them; fetus can hear and the ability to learn signifi cantly
increases; signs of memory and the ability to respond to various stimuli
are apparent; and music has a calming effect while harsh sounds have
an agitating effect.
Third Trimester: The nervous system has matured and becomes fully
formed; brain enters a rapid growth phase; movements are more
coordinated and muscles are stronger; fetus moves to the rhythm of
music; sight has developed and response to light is evident; movement
is less frequent but stronger toward the end of the ninth month; and
growth and development continue until birth.
HOW YOUR UNBORN BABY'S BRAIN DEVELOPS
Your baby's brain begins developing almost immediately and by the
fi fth month the number of brain cells your baby will have for the rest of
her life is determined. From this point forward, her brain develops by
increasing the size and complexity of the cells already created. Around
the eighth month, your unborn baby's brain changes signifi cantly. At this
time, it doubles in weight and the connections between the brain cells,
known as synapses, become even more complex.
The following is the structure of a brain cell:
Dendrites: receive messages from the body
Cell body: decides whether to send the message received from the
dendrites or to store it
Axons: transmit messages received from the cell body
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As the cells get larger, the axons grow longer and the dendrites become
an increasingly complex system of multiple connections like branches of
a tree. The more stimulation the cells receive, the more complex these
dendrites become, resulting in a more developed brain.
The number of brain cells your baby is born with helps determine her
potential, but it is also the number of connections between these cells
that determines her fi nal intelligence. Helping to increase the number of
connections and complexity of the brain cells with stimulation increases
the probability of your baby having a higher intelligence level and IQ.
RESEARCH FINDINGS
It is now known that stimulation of the senses affects the growth of
the brain cells and if a fetus has little stimulation in the womb, fewer
connections are made. Specialists in fetal and infant brain development
have agreed that stimulating your unborn baby's senses can affect the
development of the connections between the brain cells. In fact, the lack
of these connections can actually cause cells to die, especially in the
eighth month of pregnancy.
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By the end of the fi fth month, your baby can hear and begins to learn,
and you can tell when she is reacting to external stimulation. In one
case, pregnant mothers actually had to leave a concert of classical
music before it was over because their babies were kicking so hard in
time to the music that they couldn’t tolerate it.
3
In another case, mothers were asked to play their favorite classical
music to their unborn baby for ten minutes a day at a volume that was
just a little louder than normal speaking voice. It was discovered that
the babies recognized the change in their environments immediately as
was evidenced by their heart rates increasing noticeably. What is also
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interesting is that the unborn baby does not respond in this way to many
single notes even if they are played very loud and very close to her.
4
Yet another study showed that unborn babies who had classical music
played to them from the middle of the fi fth month until they were born,
for ten minutes twice a day, developed more quickly, began to talk up
to six months earlier, and had greater intellectual development than
those babies who had not had classical music played to them inside
the womb.
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Some women worry that if they improve the brain's development, the
baby's head will be larger thereby causing an increase in the risk of
delivery problems. In fact, there is reason to believe the opposite is
true. Prenatal sound stimulation has led to shorter and less painful labor
periods, a lower number of cesarean section deliveries, and a greater
number of non-traumatic births.6 In addition, a baby who experiences
prenatal stimulation tends to:
• Be calmer and more alert
• Be happier and cry less
• Have a longer attention span
• Be stronger and have better coordination
• Lift his or her head up earlier and stand earlier
• Walk earlier
• Talk earlier
• Have more self-confi dence
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Remember, by the end of the fi fth month your unborn baby begins to
hear and by the sixth month, her ability to learn increases signifi cantly.
It is now time to start stimulating your baby. Keep in mind that your baby
is most alert during the evening hours so you may want to play music or
talk to her a few more times.
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INSTRUCTIONS FOR PLAYING MUSIC TO YOUR
UNBORN BABY (YOU WILL NEED YOUR OWN CD PLAYER)
The best time to play music is once in the morning and once in the
evening, for a period of 5 to 10 minutes, around the same time each
day. Be careful not to play the music too long or too frequently as your
unborn baby also needs to rest. However, you will probably fi nd that
your baby will be very active and obviously awake during the evening.
Do not play the same music over and over again. It is believed that if
your baby hears the same thing repeatedly, she will eventually ignore it.
However, periodic repetition of the same music is advisable. In some
cases, when the music was played after the baby was born, the newborn
seemed to recognize the melody.
We suggest playing different music during each session in a single day
and replaying it two or three days later. We also suggest that you keep a
schedule of the music you have played showing the date, music played,
and times it was played. We've provided you with a starter schedule on
page 22 in this booklet.
To play music to your unborn baby, follow these easy steps (See Fig. 12):
1. Connect the cable from the Fetal Speakers to the input jack on your
own CD player. If you want to listen to the music at the same time,
use the enclosed adapter. Plug the adapter into your CD player. Then
plug the cable from the Fetal Speakers into one of the jacks on the
adapter and the headset into the other jack.
2. Insert the enclosed prenatal CD of classical music in your CD player.
3. Position the Fetal Speakers against your belly. You will want to adjust
the position of the speakers depending on what month of pregnancy
you are in. You should be able to tell where your baby's head is by
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where you feel her kicking most frequently. You may tuck the speakers
into your clothing or use the Maternity Belt to hold them in place.
4. Play the music for approximately 10 minutes at a time and alternate
the selections you play. Use the schedule included in this booklet as
a record of what selections you have played and how frequently you
played them.
5. Play the music just a little louder than you would normally play it for
yourself. If it is much too loud for you, it will be too loud for your baby.
The Maternity Belt will provide you with support and additional comfort
while you are doing something special for your baby. You may wear it
when you are not playing music to your baby as well. Please care for it by
hand washing it in cold water using a mild soap.
fi g.12
maternity belt
headset
fetal speakers
CD player
adapter
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PLAYING MUSIC TO YOUR NEWBORN
The stimulation of your baby can continue after birth to help enhance
development. Our postnatal CD contains special selections of music
from a variety of classical composers. They are longer in duration than
the prenatal CD because as your baby gets older she will be able to
focus for longer periods of time.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR TALKING, SINGING,
& READING TO YOUR UNBORN BABY
(See Fig. 13)
1. Connect the cable from the Fetal Speakers to the Fetal Microphone.
The Fetal Microphone requires one AAA battery (not included).
2. Position the Fetal Speakers against your belly. You will want to adjust
the position of the speakers depending on what month of pregnancy
you are in. You should be able to tell where your baby's head is by
where you feel her kicking most frequently. You may tuck the speakers
into your clothing or use the Maternity Belt to hold them in place.
3. Be careful to speak in a normal voice. The microphone will amplify
your voice so you don't have to speak too loudly as this may disturb
your baby. You may also want to gently stroke your stomach while
you are speaking.
BABY
4. Alternate your voice with the baby's father's voice – fi ve minutes of
yours and the fi ve minutes of his. Speak in loving tones and repeat
what you say 3 to 4 times. Repeat this a few times each day. Also read
your baby a story. Choose one that you will read after she is born.
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