{"id":1913,"date":"2024-09-13T09:39:28","date_gmt":"2024-09-13T08:39:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/hv\/?page_id=1913"},"modified":"2026-06-24T16:01:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T15:01:19","slug":"baby-brain-development-attachment","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/hv\/antenatal\/baby-brain-development-attachment\/","title":{"rendered":"Baby brain development and attachment"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2715 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2026\/06\/Pregnant-belly-199x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"123\" height=\"185\" srcset=\"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2026\/06\/Pregnant-belly-199x300.jpg 199w, https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2026\/06\/Pregnant-belly.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 123px) 100vw, 123px\" \/>Now that you are settling into your pregnancy you will be starting to think about your baby:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What will baby look like?<\/li>\n<li>Will they be a boy or a girl?<\/li>\n<li>What will we call them?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Perhaps you are now rubbing your belly, or noticing your baby\u2019s movements more?\u00a0Many people start talking to their baby bump, or singing to them.\u00a0If you have a partner or the baby has siblings they may also be starting to engage with the baby.<\/p>\n<p>All these actions are very normal and are encouraged because they are important ways of bonding with your baby during your pregnancy.<\/p>\n<p>You can learn more about the importance of your developing relationship with your baby here:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/hv\/0-1\/communication\/\">Communicating with your baby<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2717 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2026\/06\/brain-neurons-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"188\" height=\"106\" srcset=\"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2026\/06\/brain-neurons-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2026\/06\/brain-neurons.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 188px) 100vw, 188px\" \/>Our brains are filled with billions of nerve cells which are busy forming whilst a baby is growing in the womb.<\/p>\n<p>By 18 weeks of pregnancy a babies ears are able to send signals to the brain, by 24 weeks it can recognise your voices!<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Hearing your voice can help calm your baby and helps you start to build a close bond. Talking, reading and singing to your baby also helps their brain grow.<\/p>\n<p>This early connection helps your baby learn, behave well and stay healthy as they grow.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ouh.nhs.uk\/media\/vflbmvve\/115975brain.pdf\">Growing your baby&#8217;s brain<\/a>\u00a0 ouh.nhs.uk Oxfordshire midwives<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/tiny-happy-people\/articles\/z826qfr\">When can baby hear your voice in the womb?<\/a> BBC Tiny Happy People<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/tiny-happy-people\/articles\/zwdrsk7\">Singing to baby: When can babies hear in the womb?<\/a> BBC Tiny Happy People<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/shapingus.centreforearlychildhood.org\/\">Shaping Us<\/a> Centre for Early Childhood<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Now that you are settling into your pregnancy you will be starting to think about your baby: What will baby&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2377,"parent":1890,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1913","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/hv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/hv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/hv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/hv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/hv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1913"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/hv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1913\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2763,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/hv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1913\/revisions\/2763"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/hv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1890"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/hv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/hv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}