Parents-to-be now have a new way of connecting with their unborn babies. Introducing Babypod, a small speaker that pregnant women can insert into their vaginas to play music for their uterine inhabitants.
Put simply, Babypod is more or less a "musical tampon" that lets fetuses listen to music or other sounds in utero.
Babypod
Developed in Spain, Babypod was inspired by research from Institut Marquès, a Barcelona-based medical center focused on gynecology and assisted reproduction.
Dr. Marisa López-Teijón from Institut Marquès told The Huffington Post that her team studies the influence of music on embryonic and fetal development."We’ve conducted a study showing that musical vibrations increase the chances that the sperm fertilizes the egg, i.e. that music improves IVF," she said.
Having found better results in in-vitro fertilization through musical vibrations for embryos, the researchers decided to apply their idea to fetuses.
López-Teijón and her team placed speakers on pregnant women's abdomens during ultrasounds but found no fetal reaction. "In fact, gynecologists had never observed in an ultrasound a change on the fetus as a reaction to external noises or the voice of the mother," the doctor explained.
"We decided that we had to bring closer to them the source of sound," she continued. "We had to bring the background music into the uterus. And I had the idea of inserting a speaker in the vagina of pregnant women."
Babypod 
babypod
For three months, the team evaluated 106 expectant mothers and their unborn babies' reactions to intravaginal music. "We were pleasantly surprised to see the excitement of parents during ultrasound sessions to see the spectacular images of face, tongue and mouth movements of their babies,"López-Teijón said, adding that most patients wanted to repeat the experience and many more parents-to-be requested to participate.
López-Teijón added that they observed no adverse effects on the health of the mother or baby.
With Babypod, parents all over the world can try the experience for themselves.
"Pregnant women are excited to have the chance to communicate to their babies in a safe and effective way," Babypod cofounder Luis Pallarès Aniorte told HuffPost, adding, "They want to provide the best for their children even before birth."
Babypod
According to Pallarès Aniorte, Babypod can help wake fetuses and induce movement during ultrasounds, which could make these appointments more effective and efficient. The speaker device can also help babies connect with their mothers' voices and develop early language skills.
"Furthermore, we’re all excited about the potential of Babypod on the screening of fetal deafness, and on early neurological stimulation," he added.
In December, a group of expectant mothers in Spain attended a special "concert for fetuses" to promote Babypod. Each mother was outfitted with one of the devices and serenaded by singer Soraya Arnela.
Babypod is available online and in stores in select countries. Pallarès Aniorte told HuffPost that the product has been sold to thousands of women in the U.S., Spain, India, Germany, the U.K., Australia, Japan, France, Sweden, Brazil, Peru and more.
For more information, visit the Babypod website.
H/T Jezebel
Also on HuffPost:
7 Awesome Things Your Body Does During Pregnancy
1. Your Blood Volume Increases
During pregnancy, the volume of blood in a woman's body increases by a whopping 50 percent in order to help support the uterus. Accordingly, the amount of blood pumped by the heart increases as well. As the Merck Manual explains, by the end of pregnancy, a woman's uterus receives one-fifth of her pre-pregnancy blood supply.
1. Your Blood Volume Increases
During pregnancy, the volume of blood in a woman's body increases by a whopping 50 percent in order to help support the uterus. Accordingly, the amount of blood pumped by the heart increases as well. As the Merck Manual explains, by the end of pregnancy, a woman's uterus receives one-fifth of her pre-pregnancy blood supply.
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2. You Actually Glow
If you find yourself looking all dewey and glow-y during your pregnancy, it's not just because you're brimming with I'm-about-to-become-a-mom sentiment; there's also a physiological basis for it. The aforementioned increase in circulation that occurs during pregnancy causes many women's faces to appear brighter, or flushed. And, as the American Pregnancy Association reports, as women's bodies produce more hormones, their oil glands can go into overdrive, resulting in that famed pregnancy glow.
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3. You Grow An Entire Organ
During pregnancy, women's bodies grow a whole new organ, i.e., the placenta -- a structure that develops in the uterus and provides oxygen and nutrients to your growing baby (while also playing a key role in waste removal). The organ typically grows onto the upper part of the uterus and is linked to your baby via the umbilical cord. After your baby's born and the placenta's job is done, it is simply expelled through the birth canal (although some women, including a growing number of celebs, then ingest it for its reputed health benefits -- a practice known as "placentophagia").
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4. You Loosen Up
More specifically, as you move through your pregnancy, hormones (especially the aptly named "relaxin") help soften the ligaments that hold your bones together and the pelvic bones themselves begin moving to accommodate your baby's birth. Sometimes, this can cause a bit of pain and discomfort (if it's severe enough, you should see your doctor), although as What To Expect reports, once your baby is born, your joints will firm up again.
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5. You Stop Shedding
Do you have the thickest, most amazing head of hair, like, ever? During pregnancy you stop shedding hair at it's normal rate. As Baby Center explains, most of the time between 85 and 95 percent of the hair on your head is growing, while the rest is in a "resting" stage, before it falls out. But during pregnancy, higher estrogen levels extend that growth phase, meaning you lose less hair and may suddenly find yourself with a gloriously thick ponytail. (Although, as we previously reported, after your baby's born, that "extra" hair will fall out.)
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6. You Breathe Differently
It's not uncommon for pregnant women to feel short of breath, particularly later in their pregnancy when the uterus grows and begins to press on the diaphragm. But breathing also changes because of the high levels of the hormone progesterone in your body signal your brain to lower the levels of carbon dioxide in the blood, Merck explains -- yet another amazing example of all the things your body does to support and accommodate a growing baby.
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7. You Become Particularly Orgasmic
As Babble explains, the increased blood flow to a woman's genitals -- plus the general surge in any number of hormones that influence desire -- can make many pregnant women feel libidinous. And those changes can also increase sensitivity, allowing many women to orgasm more easily. But as with all things related to sexuality, this is totally individual -- some women want nothing to do with sex while they're pregnant.
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