Asking the newborn *cough*

Last night at friends' I was perched in front of their box watching and flicking the TV. I came to SBS and thought, oh, I'll watch this! It was called Odyssey of New Life or some such. Computer rendered video showed the baby in the tummy *gush* in the 2nd trimester. It was sweet.

And then they started goin on about how the senses are developed and what the baby can and cannot do. One American doctor was talking about how babies could recognise their mother, and choose what they wanted to hear.

He made a device with a nipple on it and played sounds to the baby - including the babe's mum. Through basic positive reinforcement the baby could "choose" to listen to its mother by sucking the fake nipple faster.

I was horrified that people would be confusing NEWBORN babies sucking reflexes by using a fake nipple to find out if it wanted to be with its mother, or if it recognised it's mother's voice.

ARGH!

In other news. Tara's birth saga is written. Doing final adjustments - 14 pages long. oops. Will have to publish it on its own page I think...