When expectant mothers engage in prenatal education with their unborn babies, they often wonder: Can my child feel anything? Recent research confirms that fetuses not only possess sensory perception but also memory, enabling them to respond to parental nurturing. Human life truly begins during the fetal stage, with sensory awareness developing around the third month.
The fetal nose begins forming as early as the second month of pregnancy, and by the seventh month, the nostrils can communicate with the external environment.However, surrounded by amniotic fluid, the fetus cannot fully utilize its developing sense of smell, limiting its olfactory function's advancement.
Nevertheless, this sense proves immediately useful at birth. Newborns can detect their mother's scent while nursing and later recognize her presence whenever she approaches.