Until more research is done, you can at least take comfort in the fact that prenatal exposure to music won't hurt your baby. "The baby in the womb is well buffered from typical environmental noises," Dr. Fifer says. Just be aware of the volume level before you hit "play," and despite the plethora of stock photo s that would suggest otherwise, Dr. Fifer says it's a bad idea to put headphones directly on your belly (since the high volume and the sound vibrations could cause unnecessary external stimulation).