
This father’s bond with his unborn baby had a heartwarming result. Flávio Dantas, of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was more than excited to be a father. Every day until his daughter was born, he would speak to his unborn baby, with no idea how much his efforts would reward him.

Tarsila Batista, Flávio’s partner shared that every morning before she went to work, Flávio would say “I’ll always be there” while stroking her growing belly.


Amazingly, when he would do this, their unborn daughter would start to kick and move.

When baby Antonella was born at Marcílio Dias Naval Hospital in Rio de Janeiro she had the most appropriate response to hearing her dad’s beloved voice for the first time. AdvertisementAdvertisement


As the medical team handed baby Antonella to her parents for their first meeting, she was sleeping. Flávio leaned in close to say “hello”, and he repeated the same words he had told his daughter throughout Tarsila’s pregnancy, but this time, Antonella responded.

She opened her eyes and gave the biggest smile.

Flávio, overwhelmed by this life experience, described his love for his baby daughter as “too big to fit inside his chest.”


Antonella had quite a bit of time to get used to her father’s voice. Since babies are able to process sounds starting as soon as 16 weeks after conception, by 26 weeks of age, babies will noticeably react to noises from the outside world and are commonly soothed by their parent’s voices.

“It was then that I could be sure what love is” Flávio added.

As if his daughter’s beaming smile wasn’t enough, Antonella was also born on August 11th, 2019: Father’s Day in Brazil.

This will surely be a day and date that Flávio will remember for the rest of his life.