Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Acoustic noise can have profound effects on wellbeing, impacting the health of pregnant women and their fetus. Mounting evidence suggests neural memory traces are formed by auditory learning in utero. A better understanding of the fetal auditory environment is therefore critical to avoid exposure to damaging noise levels. Using anatomical data from MRI scans of pregnant patients ( $$N=4$$ N = 4 ) from 24 weeks of gestation, we develop a computational model to quantify fetal exposure to acoustic field. We obtain acoustic transfer characteristics across the human audio range and pressure maps in transverse planes passing through the uterus at 5 kHz, 10 kHz and 20 kHz, showcasing multiple scattering and modal patterns. Our calculations show that the sound transmitted in utero is attenuated by as little as 6 dB below 1 kHz, confirming results from animal studies that the maternal abdomen and pelvis do not shelter the fetus from external noise.
Source: Nature Communications
Language: English
Topic: Noise Effects and Management
Subfield: Speech and Hearing
Field: Health Professions
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $6,990
Funders: National Institute for Health and Care Research, Research Councils UK, University College London, Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo, National Institutes of Health, Medical Research Council, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Awards: International Institutional Awards Tranche 1 University College London, Optimising patient specific treatment plans for ultrasound ablative therapies in the abdomen (OptimUS), G2408009129, COMPUTATIONAL SIMULATIONS OF FOCUSED ULTRASOUND WITH THE BOUNDARY ELEMENT METHOD, Optimising patient specific treatment plans for ultrasound ablative therapies in the abdomen (OptimUS), Magnetic resonance Imaging of mother and fetus in late gestation to inform and optimise BIRTH management: the MIBIRTH study, G48890568, G6490618521, G7287481856, G7423666037, G807679557, G8232689528, G9000337871, G907542638
OpenAlex ID: W4409809173