The claim

「Playing Mozart to your bump raises the baby’s IQ」

Q: Playing Mozart to your bump raises the baby’s IQ

Myth — The "Mozart effect" came from a study in adults that found only a brief bump in spatial task performance — never IQ. A meta-analysis pooling about 40 studies and more than 3,000 participants did measure a small effect (d = 0.37), but any other music produced essentially the same thing (d = 0.38); the authors concluded there is "little evidence left for a specific, performance-enhancing Mozart effect." For fetal intelligence it was never demonstrated at all. Play music by all means — it relaxes you and it is time spent with your baby — but do not treat it as an investment in IQ. Watch the volume, and keep the speaker off your belly.

Verdict

Myth

The "Mozart effect" came from a study in adults that found only a brief bump in spatial task performance — never IQ. A meta-analysis pooling about 40 studies and more than 3,000 participants did measure a small effect (d = 0.37), but any other music produced essentially the same thing (d = 0.38); the authors concluded there is "little evidence left for a specific, performance-enhancing Mozart effect." For fetal intelligence it was never demonstrated at all. Play music by all means — it relaxes you and it is time spent with your baby — but do not treat it as an investment in IQ. Watch the volume, and keep the speaker off your belly.

Sources

Intelligence · Intelligence (journal)
Intelligence (journal). (2010). Mozart effect–Shmozart effect: A meta-analysis. Intelligence, 38(3), 314–323. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ882611
Direct source · Peer-reviewed paper · checked 2026-08-02

「Playing Mozart to your bump raises the baby’s IQ」

Verdict

Sources

Related claims · Development

Further reading