Music therapy for preemies is cropping up all over the world, and it’s showing promising results! Music therapy is designed to help relax the infant and studies are showing that it improves neurological functions! Here are some unique ways in which preemies are being treated with music.
Granada, Spain
Nurses at a maternity hospital put speakers up to an incubator three times a day. The therapy has several goals. The first is to reduce cortical levels (the hormone present when we’re stressed). Secondly, researchers are looking to see if they can help improve the bonding between the preemies and their parents. Third, researchers want to try to find ways to lengthen the sleep cycle of the preemie–mimicking the womb environment and activities as much as possible. One parent, whose preemie is in the program swears that her daughter laughs and seems to relax when she hears the music.
Florida
At the Neo-natal intensive care unit in Florida Hospital, practitioners are using a new system called PAL on their preemies. PAL stands for Pacifier Activated Lullaby and is based on the basic principles of classical conditioning.
One thing that we all learn in the womb, is to suck, swallow & breathe. It’s an automatic reflex, but when babies are deprived of that critical 3rd trimester and are born too early–they have to learn to suck, swallow & breathe in the NICU.
The pacifier is hooked up to a CD player and when the baby sucks, the CD plays music. The benefits are two fold: it is positive reinforcement for the baby trying to learn how to suck and it helps doctors and nurses keep track of the baby’s progress. Initial research shows that preemies who had the PAL system, leave the hospital two weeks earlier, on average, than those babies who didn’t have it.
Music therapy is just one of the very innovative ideas that was brought about when nurses, parents and doctors start collaborating effectively on baby’s care.