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Abstract
The literature reports the benefits of multimodal interaction with the maternal voice for preterm dyads in kangaroo care. Little is known about multimodal interaction and vocal modulation between preterm mother–twin dyads. This study aims to deepen the knowledge about multimodal interaction (maternal touch, mother’s and infants’ vocalizations and infants’ gaze) between a mother and her twin preterm infants (twin 1 [female] and twin 2 [male]) during speech and humming in kangaroo care. A microanalytical case study was carried out using ELAN, PRAAT, and MAXQDA software (Version R20.4.0). Descriptive and comparative analysis was performed using SPSS software (Version V27). We observed: (1) significantly longer humming phrases to twin 2 than to twin 1 (p = 0.002), (2) significantly longer instances of maternal touch in humming than in speech to twin 1 (p = 0.000), (3) a significant increase in the pitch of maternal speech after twin 2 gazed (p = 0.002), and (4) a significant increase of pitch in humming after twin 1 vocalized (p = 0.026). This exploratory study contributes to questioning the role of maternal touch during humming in kangaroo care, as well as the mediating role of the infant’s gender and visual and vocal behavior in the tonal change of humming or speech.
Highlights
Mothers around the world communicate in a musical way with their infant by humming, singing, and talking to them
For maternal humming directed to twin 1, we identified a higher proportion of rising contours
For the maternal humming directed to twin 2, we found a higher proportion of sinusoidal contours
Summary
Mothers around the world communicate in a musical way with their infant by humming, singing, and talking to them. These vocal behaviors are composed of musical and acoustic elements (pulse, melodic contours, pitch) and play a crucial role in the development of communicative musicality from the neonatal period onward [1,2]. Multimodal interaction has rarely been studied between mothers and infants less than 3 months old. There is little knowledge about the characteristics of multimodal interaction between mothers and their preterm infants. Having twins can be a condition of vulnerability for mothers as it can reduce their capacity for self-regulation and affect the quality of mother–infant interaction [4]. Having premature twins can make this interaction even more difficult
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