We used fetal habituation to repeated vibroacoustic stimulation to assess f
etal memory. After the initial stimulus, we assessed the fetuses 10 min lat
er and again after 24 h. 16 of 19 fetuses habituated rapidly to the stimuli
at 10 min (p=0.004) and 24 h (p=0.042) after the initial test. We conclude
, therefore, that fetuses are able to learn: they have a short-term memory
of at least 10 min, and a long-term memory of at least 24 h.