Daijiworld Media Network - New York

New York, May 17: A new study has suggested that contagious yawning may begin even before birth, with fetuses appearing to “catch” yawns from their mothers as early as the second trimester of pregnancy.

The findings, published in the scientific journal Current Biology, offer a new perspective on contagious yawning, one of the most widely studied yet still poorly understood social behaviours.

Researchers from the University of Parma conducted the study involving women with healthy and uncomplicated pregnancies.

During the experiment, pregnant women were shown a series of videos featuring people yawning, people opening and closing their mouths, and still faces. While a camera recorded the mothers’ facial responses, a 2D ultrasound machine simultaneously monitored fetal movements in real time, particularly around the nose and lips.

The researchers found that nearly 64 per cent of the mothers yawned at least once while watching yawning videos, while almost no yawning occurred during the other clips.

Interestingly, about 53 per cent of the fetuses also yawned when their mothers viewed yawning videos. The fetal yawns were typically observed around one-and-a-half minutes after the mothers yawned.

According to the researchers, mothers who yawned more frequently also tended to have fetuses that yawned more often, indicating a strong positive association between maternal and fetal yawning behaviour.

The scientists said the exact biological mechanism behind the phenomenon remains unclear. However, they believe the findings may point towards a form of “intrauterine physiological contagion” linked to the bodily and internal physiological responses triggered by maternal actions.

The study noted that contagious yawning may represent a socially influenced motor pattern that is already developed and functional during early human development.