Evening star., 1953-06-03
Mothers Experiences
Affect Unborn Child
First Few Weeks Of Life
Have Personality lmpuct

TiISt rev weeks OF Lire
Have Personality Impact
By Thomas R. Henry
NEW YORK. June 3.--A mothers
experiences may affect profoundly tho
mind and personality Of an unborn
child.
This thesis. often disputed, was
stressed before the American Medical
Association here today by DR.. william
S. Kroger Of the Chicago Medical
School.
Disturbing emotions of the mother
during pregnancy, DR.. Kroger told OBJ
stetricians Of the society. may result in
neurotic child with q predisposition
to great variety Of "mind-body" dis
eases.
'Embryologists have demonstrated,
he said. "the stress on the growing en-
bryo, resulting from the mothers physi-
cal or emotional health, may laStingly
AFFECT the individual regardless of how
much differentiation occurs later on.
1t has been shown, for example, that
harmful emotions are Of more impor-
tance than glandular imbalance in pro-
ducing spontaneous abortions.
"The mind also has been implicated
In the early and late toxemias Of preg-
nancy. These may, in part, be due to
the stress Of modern living. Nausea
and vomiting Of pregnancy are seldom
seen In the stole Oriental. Yet when
these same races become Westernized
these conditions appear.
Maternal Emotions,
"Other obstetrical conditions which
have large mind-body component are
heartburn and lactation. A full breast
does not always lactate, and the flow of
milk definitely can be influenced by
maternal emotions"
Present research indicates, DR.. Kroger
said, that the first weeks of q baby's
life are more important to personality
development than any other period.
Asked whether breast or artificial
feeding is best for baby, he said: ''I
believe it makes little difference as long
as the baby is held and cuddled by
loving mother
Why does drunk stumble over his
this and s's?<
your tongue is thick" says his wife
accusingly when he staggers home after
a night with the boys.
But it's probably because they are
the highest frequency sounds in English
and somehow he can't get his tongue,
lips, teeth and cheeks quite co-ordinated
enough to make them.
That, at least, Is the idea Of Bureau
OF Standards physicists who are con-
structing speech spectrum" in order
to improve talking books for this coun-
try'S blind. The Library of Congress
conducts a circulating talking library
for the blind. The major American
and English classics and many other
books, including elementary texts, have
been placed on photograph records and
are distributed by mail. The Bureau Of
Standards and the Library have q CO.
operative project to make the records
more ineligible by basic study of the
physics Of English sounds.
More Difficult for Blind.
Making sense out Of speech is apt
to be considerably more difficult for q
blind man than for an ordinary per-
son who can use his eyes to help in
terpret what is said. The records Of
the talking books must be extremely
accurate in reproducing the precise
sounds Of letters-and In order to make
that kind Of record these precise sounds
must be known.
Every sound in English falls in a
range Of frequencies somewhere be-
tween 300 and 5000 vibrations q
second. There is some. but not too
much, difference between individual
AfC
range within approximately these
limits.
The vowels, spoken chiefly from the
throat, have the lowest frequencies and
are subject to the least variation. e."
for example, calls for range Of vibra-
tions between 300 and 400 a second
and ga" overlaps it at the upper level.
"Th," on the other hand, has frequen-
cies lying between 5000 and 5000
vibrations a second and s, I, v and ch
are in about the same category. They
call for a lot Of coordination. The
child learns this coordination sub
consciously by initiating its parents,
and habits of mouth and tongue move
mentS, producing certain sound fire.
quencies, become fixed for life. That Is
perhaps the major reason for dialects.
Dialect of the reader who makes
talking book record Is likely 10 prove
bad stumbling block to the blind
listener who can't see the expression
on the face or the movement Of the
lips.
The speech spectrum being worked
out by DR.. Edith r. Corliss Of the Bu-
reau of Standards staff may help In
the training Of readers who must pro-
duce records for all parts Of the coun-
try-for blindness Is no respecter Of
geography. It should be more irnpor-
tant. however, for makers Of records
and recording devices.
Questions and Answers