Therapeutic effects of music and mother's voice on premature infants.

TLDR

Neonatal intensive care units frequently expose infants to aversive auditory stimuli, leading to interest in using music to mask noise and reduce complications. Twenty low‑birth‑weight infants were randomized to receive 20‑minute sessions of lullabies or recordings of their mother’s voice over three consecutive days while oxygen saturation and alarm frequency were monitored. Music produced a transient rise in oxygen saturation on day 1 but caused lower saturation after cessation on days 2–3, while also reducing oximeter alarms compared to maternal voice.

Abstract

Aversive environment auditory stimuli is a common concern in neonatal intensive care. Recently, interest has developed regarding the use of music applications to mask such stimuli and to reduce the high risk for complications or failure to thrive. In this study of 20 oxygenated, low birth weight infants in a Newborn Intensive Care Unit of a regional medical center in the Southeastern United States, 10 infants listened to lullabies and 10 infants to recordings of their mother's voice through earphones for 20 minutes across three consecutive days. Oxygen saturation levels and frequency of oximeter alarms were recorded. Results indicated a differential response to the two auditory stimuli as listening time progressed. On Day 1, the infants listening to music had significantly higher oxygen saturation levels, but these effects disappeared by Days 2 and 3. On Days 2 and 3, however, the babies hearing music had significantly depressed oxygen saturation levels during the posttest intervals after the music was terminated. Infants hearing music had significantly fewer occurrences of Oximeter alarms during auditory stimuli than did those listening to the mothers' voice. Implications for the therapeutic use of auditory stimuli in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit are discussed.