The sounds that a baby makes are universal - just as their needs are universal. Ms Priscilla Dunstan said it occurred to her that sounds babies produced are sounds added to a reflex.

'That's why it's not the whole cry mothers should be listening for; it's the reflex with the sound added to it,' she said.

'Babies don't have control over what they're saying. It's a body language just like when we burp or hiccup. It's the body talking or the body making sounds. That made working out all the words easier. It wasn't just like an abstract type of thing, it was physical, real.'

>> 'Neh': I'm hungry
Sound produced when there is a sucking motion.

>> 'Owh': I'm sleepy/tired
Sound of a yawn reflex.

>> 'Eh': I need to burp
Sound produced when the muscle in the chest is lightened.

>> 'Eairh': I have lower wind pain
Sound is produced when the muscles in the lower abdomen are constricted.

>>'Heh': I am uncomfortable/need to be changed
Sound made when the chest muscle is contracted and breath is pulled into the diaphragm.