Health & Medicine
Live Music Aids in Development of Preterm Babies' Health, Lullabies Help Heart Rate and Breathing
Kathleen Lees
First Posted: Apr 15, 2013 09:47 AM EDT
Music is an important aspect of anyone's life. Studies show that our interactions with sound help us not only make connections with others growing up but also with ourselves. According to a new study, the same is even more important for the development of preterm infants. Lullabies can actually help little ones heart rate and breathing in the neonatal intensive care unit.
These kinds of sounds include live ocean disc whoosh and gato box rhythms.
Preterm is defined as babies who are born before completing 37 weeks of pregnancy. These children have higher rates of cerebral palsy, sensory deficits, learning disabilities and respiratory illnesses compared with children who are born after a full term, according to WHO.
"We are learning from the literature and studies like this that premature infants do not necessarily grow best tucked away in an incubator," said Joanne Loewy, head of the Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York.
The current study from Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine at Beth Israel Medical Center found that playing certain music can positively influence the baby's health. There have been other studies in the past that have also looked at the association between music and early language acquisition.
Researchers looked at 272 infants in 11 hospital neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). They found that music provided by a certified music therapist proved that the baby's heart rate and breathing was positively affected, while noise negatively affected the baby's health.
Lullabies were found to strengthen the emotional bond between parents and the baby, specifically those that were culturally relevant to the family. In turn, these helped them to culturally cope with their child's illness.
"The singing is extremely important because it represents familiarity - the baby heart the mother and father's voice as early as 16 weeks plus you have melody and rhythm in song," Loewy said, according to Reuters.
The study is published in the journal Pediatrics.
An estimated 15 million babies are born preterm each year, and this number is increasing, according to WHO. It is also estimated that 1.1 million babies die annually from preterm birth complications. In the U.S., premature birth occurs in 8 to 10 percent of all pregnancies, according to Medicine Plus.
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First Posted: Apr 15, 2013 09:47 AM EDT
Music is an important aspect of anyone's life. Studies show that our interactions with sound help us not only make connections with others growing up but also with ourselves. According to a new study, the same is even more important for the development of preterm infants. Lullabies can actually help little ones heart rate and breathing in the neonatal intensive care unit.
These kinds of sounds include live ocean disc whoosh and gato box rhythms.
Preterm is defined as babies who are born before completing 37 weeks of pregnancy. These children have higher rates of cerebral palsy, sensory deficits, learning disabilities and respiratory illnesses compared with children who are born after a full term, according to WHO.
"We are learning from the literature and studies like this that premature infants do not necessarily grow best tucked away in an incubator," said Joanne Loewy, head of the Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York.
The current study from Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine at Beth Israel Medical Center found that playing certain music can positively influence the baby's health. There have been other studies in the past that have also looked at the association between music and early language acquisition.
Researchers looked at 272 infants in 11 hospital neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). They found that music provided by a certified music therapist proved that the baby's heart rate and breathing was positively affected, while noise negatively affected the baby's health.
Lullabies were found to strengthen the emotional bond between parents and the baby, specifically those that were culturally relevant to the family. In turn, these helped them to culturally cope with their child's illness.
"The singing is extremely important because it represents familiarity - the baby heart the mother and father's voice as early as 16 weeks plus you have melody and rhythm in song," Loewy said, according to Reuters.
The study is published in the journal Pediatrics.
An estimated 15 million babies are born preterm each year, and this number is increasing, according to WHO. It is also estimated that 1.1 million babies die annually from preterm birth complications. In the U.S., premature birth occurs in 8 to 10 percent of all pregnancies, according to Medicine Plus.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone