1. The baby doesn’t understand English (although they can recognise the rhythm and sounds of language).

2. The mother understands English

3. The baby experiences the same emotions as the mother.

In conclusion, read something that will make the mother relaxed and happy. If that happens to be The Cat In The Hat, then great. I read Don Quixote when my wife was pregnant with our first, our second got Moomin and Hairy Maclary (by virtue of being there when I read to the first).

The most important thing is to keep reading to them, every day, after they’re born too. Buy tons of children’s books (for your own sanity), do the voices and have fun with them.

Neither will harm or effect your baby in any measurable way.

What will effect them measurably negatively is having obsessive parents who min/max every decision rather than being happy and enjoying their child.

Happiness comes from acceptance, not obsession.

The content doesn’t matter in the slightest.

It doesn’t matter. A baby doesn’t understand what you read to it. It only hears you voice and regocnizes it once they’re born. But it’llhear your voice in the belly regardless. Every time you say anyyhing, the baby hears your voice. Reading a book to a belly is mostly for the parents-to-be

I remember my mother telling me that if I don’t get staright A’s, she was gonna regret it, and my dad told me: “Don’t make me regret fucking your mom last night”. I spend the next 9 months planning for school, and the next 18 years trying so hard to be top of my class. Never had any fun. Wtf even is this “video game” y’all talking about. -10/10 would not recommend.

Please don’t berate your fetus into depression, it’s not worth it. Instead, play baby fetus shark.

Wat

I really don’t believe either of those things will do anything at all.

It’s mostly about the sound of your voice. My eldest got Vonnegut and Law & Order. So much of the latter that both before and after birth the “dun dun” sound from the show noticeably calmed her down.

Reading to a baby is about exposing them to different words and patterns than what you get from normal speech.

If you want my advice, talk to them constantly as if you are the narrator, and smile and make eye contact at every opportunity.

Not sure if this applies before birth. It couldnt hurt, so I suggest reading whatever you like to read. And make sure its something that the mother wants to hear, assuming you arent her.

Heavy metal, obviously.

A kid in the womb is better off listening to old people’s regrets and dying wishes so they can handle dying of old age better when the time comes

Fwiw, my mom had a similar debate and decided classical music instead. Came from some company called baby beethoven. So I’m biased but I think music is probably best. Words won’t really be understood anyway just tones. No angry sounds around baby.

Why would you do this when you could just as easily have them listen to WeFunk! Radio, the funkiest internet radio around, for free?

Cat in the Hat. Kid’s got a while life ahead of them to get depressed about the vile things humans have done (and still do) to each other. Let the kid have a few months of happiness.