Controlled trial of live versus recorded lullabies in preterm infants

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of live and recorded lullabies on physiological and behavioural state outcomes of stable preterm infants. We conducted a prospective, repeated measures crossover study, involving 35 stable infants of less than 32 weeks postmenstrual age. Each infant received a different intervention for three consecutive days (live lullabies, recorded lullabies, and no-music sessions). The infant was observed every 5 min for 30 min before, 20 min during, and 30 min after the intervention. The results revealed that the infants’ heart rate (HR) decreased significantly for the live and recorded lullabies conditions but not for the control condition (p = .02). The findings also suggest that the live lullabies condition resulted in a deeper sleep than the recorded lullabies condition (p = .02) and the control condition (p = .006). No changes were observed in oxygen saturation level. The results of this study show that lullabies effectively reduce the HR of preterm infants less than 32 weeks postmenstrual age, and live lullabies have a greater beneficial impact on their sleep state than recorded lullabies.