"Is Your Baby Getting Enough Music?": Musical Interventions into Gestational Labor

"Is Your Baby Getting Enough Music?"Musical Interventions into Gestational Labor Eric Drott (bio) and Marie Thompson Introduction In a 2019 video titled Music?" for the children's charity UNICEF, Dr. Ibrahim Baltagi offers "mini parenting masterclass" on how "music affects your baby's brain." Over course of five-minute video, Baltagi, lecturer in music at Lebanese International University, details benefits child development early years. The viewer sees multiracial cast infants, children, parents happily making listening to music. We are told that babies young ignites all areas skills school readiness," while "learning play musical instrument can improve mathematical learning." extends these period before birth, fetus utero. He suggests during pregnancy has "a soothing uplifting effect pregnant woman." It "positive influence unborn baby" insofar as "it is proven role brain birth." Consequently, advises "start with children possible."1 This illustrative common assertions made media discourse surrounding about music's capacity stage valuable interventions pregnancy. Various sound technologies, playlists, services, educational campaigns, programs posit key resource producing emotionally resilient intelligent future generating appropriate familial bonds prior now available.2 Many have focused Anglo-American (over)developed [End Page 125] Global North. However, evidenced by UNICEF some organizations, companies, institutions addressed (soon-to-be) infants outside North America Europe.3 These attempts harness prenatal symptomatic wider cultural tendency promote an ideal accompaniment social reproduction. As we argued elsewhere, arts institutions, advertisers, streaming services sought emphasize reproductive utility, which say, its ability help listeners take care themselves others, enhance sociality subjectification, health well-being.4 this article distinguish between two types what refer herein "gestational labor." On one hand, been sold technology both mother child. A Sound Beginning, US-based family bonding subscription service, exemplary tendency: through personalized "Womb Song," program promises "attune" baby, helping them raise calm, loving, attentive other charities configured service support disadvantaged mothers their children. Here, critically examine Carnegie Hall's Lullaby Project, engages new mothers-to-be cocompose lullaby babies. Noting coherences differences Beginning situate relation post-Fordist organizations reproduction, whereby responsibility looking after oneself others increasingly privatized, racial histories maternity, "good" motherhood racialized white threat "bad" imbricated anti-Blackness. Central ideological work performed Project very emphasis mothers, mothering, motherhood—whether or "bad." not least because those who do gestational labor necessarily (motherhood does follow from every pregnancy), nor mothering synonymous womanhood 126] (the practices call "mothering" be people different genders within nuclear family). Hence, if recurrently use term "mother" person target respective interventions, our reflects gendered language adopt (hetero)sexual division of...