Are you among those pregnant women who talk with their babies, read their stories, or listen to songs aloud so that your baby can hear it all inside the womb? 

If your answer is yes, then you might very well know that the baby understands and even reacts to all these things even before birth. 

Yes, it is true! If you've not done any such thing while you were pregnant, then you should start it right away. It has been mentioned in Ayurveda that an unborn baby can hear the sound from the 26th week of your pregnancy. Hence, talking to them establishes a bond between the baby and the mother and also aids the language learning process. 

The same holds true after birth. Talking to your baby fosters the holistic process of language learning, and the development of various senses, and also deepens the bond.

One such great time to talk to your baby is while nursing. It is the time when your complete attention is on the baby and the baby also longs for your presence. 

Talking to your baby while nursing has various other advantages as well. But before getting into that, let's get a glimpse of what to talk about while nursing your baby. 

What to talk about with your baby? 

As a mom, you have a lot of things to talk about with your baby. You can just speak about your day, positive affirmations, dreams, or some good memories of your pregnancy. The logic behind it is to soothe the baby and develop language skills. If you can't find anything to talk about, just simply recite a good story, sing a song, or do some nursery rhymes. Any one of these things would do great. 

As you know, talking to your baby while nursing has various benefits other than developing language skills. Some of these are mentioned in the article further. 

The importance of talking to the baby while nursing

•       Soothe the baby: A mom's voice is the most familiar voice for the baby. He/she has been listening to it since being inside the womb. Therefore, it is the first voice they react to and understand the most. Also, because the babies are familiar with their mother's voice, it soothes them. 

•       Better intake during breastfeeding: Since the baby is comforted by your voice and touch, they might have a proper intake. Talking to the baby also reduces the chance of them getting distracted by anything else and focuses them on feeding. 

•       Keeps the baby awake: Many times, the baby gets comfortable in the presence of the mother and falls asleep while feeding. Because of this, they might get a lower intake of milk which means less nutrition and multiple feedings. When you speak to your baby while feeding them, they also interact by doing various gestures, and this significantly reduces the chances of the baby falling asleep undone. You can however stop once you feel the baby is done so that they sleep. 

•       Overall development: As you talk to your baby, you might notice them trying to interact with you with some hand or leg gestures, different movements, or even by trying to speak. As the baby is in a happy mood while you're nursing them, chances to react more prominently at this time. This promotes the overall development of the baby's senses. 

•       Enhancing the bond: Talking with your baby at any time deepens your bond with them. If you do so while nursing, you become the baby's centre of attraction and they are more likely to listen to everything very keenly. This makes them even more familiar with you and fond of you. As a result of this, the bond between the mother and child enhances, and the understanding between the two increases.