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    Pediatrics
    April 2013
    From the American Academy of Pediatrics
    Article

    The Effects of Music Therapy on Vital Signs, Feeding, and Sleep in Premature Infants

    Joanne Loewy, Kristen Stewart, Ann-Marie Dassler, Aimee Telsey, Peter Homel
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    Abstract

    OBJECTIVES: Recorded music risks overstimulation in NICUs. The live elements of music such as rhythm, breath, and parent-preferred lullabies may affect physiologic function (eg, heart and respiratory rates, O2 saturation levels, and activity levels) and developmental function (eg, sleep, feeding behavior, and weight gain) in premature infants.

    METHODS: A randomized clinical multisite trial of 272 premature infants aged ≥32 weeks with respiratory distress syndrome, clinical sepsis, and/or SGA (small for gestational age) served as their own controls in 11 NICUs. Infants received 3 interventions per week within a 2-week period, when data of physiologic and developmental domains were collected before, during, and after the interventions or no interventions and daily during a 2-week period.

    RESULTS: Three live music interventions showed changes in heart rate interactive with time. Lower heart rates occurred during the lullaby (P < .001) and rhythm intervention (P = .04). Sucking behavior showed differences with rhythm sound interventions (P = .03). Entrained breath sounds rendered lower heart rates after the intervention (P = .04) and differences in sleep patterns (P < .001). Caloric intake (P = .01) and sucking behavior (P = .02) were higher with parent-preferred lullabies. Music decreased parental stress perception (P < .001).

    CONCLUSIONS: The informed, intentional therapeutic use of live sound and parent-preferred lullabies applied by a certified music therapist can influence cardiac and respiratory function. Entrained with a premature infant’s observed vital signs, sound and lullaby may improve feeding behaviors and sucking patterns and may increase prolonged periods of quiet–alert states. Parent-preferred lullabies, sung live, can enhance bonding, thus decreasing the stress parents associate with premature infant care.

    • music therapy
    • music medicine
    • acoustic stimulation
    • NICU music interventions
  • Abbreviations:
    CI —
    95% confidence interval
    ES —
    effect size
    HR —
    heart rate
    IRB —
    institutional review board
    RR —
    respiratory rate
    SGA —
    small for gestational age
    • Accepted January 3, 2013.
    • Copyright © 2013 by the American Academy of Pediatrics
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    The Effects of Music Therapy on Vital Signs, Feeding, and Sleep in Premature Infants
    Joanne Loewy, Kristen Stewart, Ann-Marie Dassler, Aimee Telsey, Peter Homel
    Pediatrics Apr 2013, peds.2012-1367; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2012-1367

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    The Effects of Music Therapy on Vital Signs, Feeding, and Sleep in Premature Infants
    Joanne Loewy, Kristen Stewart, Ann-Marie Dassler, Aimee Telsey, Peter Homel
    Pediatrics Apr 2013, peds.2012-1367; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2012-1367
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