Similar traditions around the world

China: taijiao, 'teaching the foetus'

Taijiao (胎教) means 'foetal education'. It is one of the oldest documented prenatal traditions in the world. Early Chinese texts, including the Biographies of Exemplary Women (Lienü zhuan) from the Han dynasty, praise Tai Ren, mother of King Wen of Zhou, because during pregnancy 'her eyes did not look upon evil sights, her ears did not hear lewd sounds, and her mouth did not utter arrogant words'. Her son was later revered as a wise ruler.

Traditional taijiao advice asked pregnant women to sit and sleep properly, eat well, listen to poetry and music, and keep their emotions balanced. In modern China, taijiao has become a broad popular practice that includes classical music, reading aloud and talking to the bump — much like garbh sanskar. Neighbouring Korea has its own long tradition, taegyo (태교), which remains very much alive; many Korean parents give their baby a cheerful 'taemyeong', or womb nickname, to use when talking to the bump.

Jewish blessings for the unborn

Jewish tradition offers many ways to hold a pregnancy in prayer. The Hebrew Bible tells of Hannah, who prayed for a child and then dedicated her son Samuel with gratitude — her prayer is often read by women hoping for or expecting a baby. Many women recite Psalms (Tehillim) during pregnancy, and there are collections of special prayers for the expectant mother and the unborn child, asking for health and an easy birth.

Some communities avoid large baby showers before birth, preferring quiet blessings and celebrating after the baby arrives, while others now hold gatherings to bless the mother. Rabbinic literature also contains a lovely image: that a baby in the womb is taught the whole Torah by an angel, which is forgotten at birth — a reminder that many cultures imagine the unborn child as already listening and learning.

Lullaby traditions everywhere

Lullabies may be the most universal prenatal and newborn tradition of all. Researchers who compare music across cultures find that people in very different societies can recognise a lullaby even in an unfamiliar language: lullabies tend to be slow, soft, repetitive and gently falling in melody.

In India, mothers sing loris and jogulas; in Spain and Latin America, nanas and canciones de cuna; in Japan, komoriuta; in the Arab world, hadudas. Many mothers start singing during pregnancy, and research on fetal hearing suggests that a song sung often before birth may be familiar to the newborn. Madalasa's ancient lullabies sit in a worldwide family.

Other customs of care

In Japan, on the 'Day of the Dog' in the fifth month of pregnancy, many women visit a shrine and begin wearing a haraobi, a cotton belly sash, with prayers for an easy birth, because dogs are associated with easy deliveries. Across many cultures, there are traditions of feeding the pregnant woman special foods, keeping her company, massaging her and protecting her from frightening news — echoing the Ayurvedic idea of the dauhridini, the woman with two hearts.

Modern prenatal bonding

In the late twentieth century, psychologists began studying what they called maternal-fetal attachment: the feelings, thoughts and behaviours that show a parent's growing bond with the baby before birth. Mecca Cranley's 1981 scale was one of the first attempts to measure it. Since then, many hospitals and antenatal programmes encourage parents to talk, read and sing to the bump, to notice the baby's movements and patterns, and to involve partners.

Today's popular practices — prenatal yoga, birth preparation classes, hypnobirthing, journalling and baby-music playlists — share the same instinct. Some are well studied, many less so, but most are low-risk and help parents feel calmer and more connected, which is reason enough.

What these traditions share

Across very different cultures, a handful of ideas keep returning:

• The baby is already part of the family and is, in some sense, listening.
• The mother's calm, rest and nourishment deserve protection by everyone around her.
• Good words — songs, stories, prayers, blessings — are a gift worth giving early.
• Community matters: no mother should carry a pregnancy alone.

Where they differ, and a word of care

The traditions differ in their details and beliefs, and some older advice — strict food rules, avoiding all sad feelings, or ideas about controlling a child's looks or sex — does not fit what we know today. As with garbh sanskar, the best approach is to keep the warmth and leave behind anything that brings fear or guilt. Take what nourishes you, and share it with your family.

Bringing it home

If your family comes from more than one tradition, pregnancy is a lovely time to blend them. A grandmother's Gujarati lullaby, a Psalm a friend shared, a Tamil kriti and a bedtime story in English can all live in the same evening ritual. What your baby will come to know is not the label on a practice but the voices that repeat it, night after night. Choose a few pieces that feel like home, keep them simple, and let your family add their own.

Sources mentioned

• Lienü zhuan (Biographies of Exemplary Women), Han dynasty
• Cranley, M. S. (1981). Development of a tool for the measurement of maternal attachment during pregnancy. Nursing Research.

Frequently asked questions

Keep reading

• Next: A month-by-month garbh sanskar guide →
• What science says, and doesn't
• Pregnancy music and ragas
• Stories from India's history
• All six guides