Unborn babies want to socialize as early as week 18 of gestation, a study of twins has shown.

The Italian researchers used an advanced method of ultrasonography, which enables the movements of foetuses to be recorded over time in 3D. The aim was to see how five pairs of twins interacted with each other in their mothers’ wombs.

The first 20-minute recording sessions taken during week 14 of pregnancy, showed the foetuses touching each other as well as themselves, and the uterine wall.

During the second recording, four weeks later, their interest in their twin was some three times higher, with almost 30 per cent of movements directed towards the sibling. Those movements were also more accurate then self-directed ones, the researchers reported in PLoS ONE magazine.

The changes were quite consistent among the ten foetuses studied. The authors believe this indicates that humans are “wired to be social”, and our interest in communication comes naturally as the neural system matures.