A new medical study reveals that unborn babies show evidence of learning by their 34^th week.

That's three weeks earlier than the accepted norm, said researchers. 

The study, published in the journal Infant Behavior and Development, sought to pinpoint when the ability to learn emerges in unborn infants. It followed 32 women in Florida from their 28th through 38th weeks of pregnancy.

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Charlene Krueger, associate professor at the University of Florida's College of Nursing and lead researcher, said their study "really pushed the envelope" in terms of how early babies begin to learn.

During the study, women were asked to repeat three times out loud a set 15 second nursery rhyme, and do it twice a day for six weeks. The rhyme was previously unknown to the mothers.

The fetuses' heart rates were monitored at 32, 33 and 34 weeks while they listened to a recording of a female stranger recite the rhyme.

Krueger said that by the 34^th week, heart rates of the tested fetuses showed an overall slight decline. She said a decelerating heartbeat has long been associated with a fetus recognizing something familiar such as a sound.

On the other hand, the heart rates of the control group of fetuses accelerated slightly while listening to a recording of a new nursery rhyme. Heartbeats of fetuses normally accelerate in response to a new sound or experience. 

"We cautiously concluded, because it was not statistically significant, that learning emerged by 34 weeks gestational age," Krueger said.

At the 34^th week, mothers stopped reciting the rhyme to their babies who were tested again at 36 and 38 weeks.

Krueger revealed that at 38 weeks, "we confidently concluded the fetus could remember the rhythm of that nursery rhyme, which was four weeks after the mother stopped reciting the rhyme."

"The deeper and more prolonged response (at 38 weeks), the more confident I felt that learning had gone on."

What the result really shows is how sophisticated the interaction is between a mother and her infant, she said.

Krueger said she next wants to experiment with placing recordings of the mothers' voices in babies' cribs so they will benefit from positive impacts of their mothers' voices.