Babies learn first lullabies in the womb The results, published in the PLOS ONE journal, were the first to track how long memories formed by foetuses remain in the brain after birth. Eino Partanen, a graduate student who led the study, said: "Even though our earlier research indicated that foetuses could learn minor details of speech, we did not know how long they could retain the information. These results show that babies are capable of learning at a very young age, and that the effects of the learning remain apparent in the brain for a long time. Dr Minna Huotilainen, principal investigator, added: "The results are significant, as studying the responses in the brain let us focus on the foundations of fetal memory. The early mechanisms of memory are currently unknown. A further study, which is currently under way at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, will focus on whether stressful noises, for example those in loud workplaces, could have a harmful effect on babies' development during the final trimester.