Sure, you can find DVDs and other educational tools for infants. But did you know there is curriculum available for babies in utero? The BabyPlus Prenatal Education System takes learning a step further by offering an auditory-based educational series of sounds based upon the maternal heartbeat. Brent Logan, a developmental psychologist and director of the Prenatal Institute in Seattle, Wash., created the BabyPlus system 20 years ago. Designed for women between 18 and 32 weeks of pregnancy – the time when cognitive development is significant – the BabyPlus auditory system fits in a fanny pack belt that attaches snugly around a woman's abdomen.

Used twice per day for one hour, the auditory exercises introduce 16 sounds of rhythms that sequentially advance as a woman's pregnancy increases. Learning reportedly takes place when the child starts to differentiate between the rhythmic sounds and those of its mother. Children exposed to the BabyPlus curriculum hit mile-stones earlier than their peers and were more school-ready based upon numerous trials and clinical testing of children using the , CLAMS (Clinical Linguistic Auditory Milestone Series) and Wechsler Tests. BabyPlus is $149 and available online at www.babyplus.com. For more information, call 800-330-6944.