Music Therapy Is Effective during Sleep in Preterm Infants

Susann Kobus,Monia Vanessa Dewan,Ursula Felderhoff-Mueser,Anne-Kathrin Dathe,Marlis Diezel,Nora Bruns,Britta Huening

doi:10.3390/ijerph18168245

Abstract

Recent research found evidence supporting music therapy for preterm infants to stabilize vital signs and possibly promote neurodevelopment. Even though preterm infants spend a considerable amount of time sleeping, the effectiveness of music therapy during sleep has not been studied. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of music therapy on preterm infants’ vital signs with respect to the state of wakefulness. The first 20 consecutive infants born with <32 weeks’ gestational age (GA) from the intervention group of an ongoing randomized controlled trial received live music therapy twice a week until hospital discharge. The heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, and state of wakefulness were recorded before and after therapy. We observed significantly lower heart and respiratory rates and higher oxygen saturation after live music therapy sessions in general (mean differences −4.9 beats per min; −7.0 breaths per min and +1.5%, respectively). When music therapy was applied during sleep, respiratory rates significantly lowered by 8.8 breaths per min and oxygen saturation increased by 1.6%, whereas in the awake state the vital parameters did not significantly change (heart rate −5.2 beats per min; respiratory rate +0.6 breaths per min and oxygen saturation +1.0%). Music therapy stabilized the respiratory rates and oxygen saturations in sleeping preterm infants.

Highlights

From a gestational age of 26 weeks, the human fetus can perceive auditory stimuli [1].Maturation of the auditory system is influenced by the acoustic environment of an infant and is the basis for later language development, learning and memory formation [2]
Even though newborns and preterm infants spend approximately two thirds of the daytime sleeping during their first weeks of life [13], we found no study that assessed the
To investigate the effects of music therapy on vital signs we analyzed the protocols of 307 music therapy sessions of the first 20 consecutive infants that had been allocated to the intervention group

Summary

Introduction

Maturation of the auditory system is influenced by the acoustic environment of an infant and is the basis for later language development, learning and memory formation [2]. Preterm birth coincides with a period of rapid brain development, making the infant’s brain highly vulnerable but responsive at the same time to neuroprotective interventions [1]. A promising family-integrated early intervention to improve infant development, parental well-being, and bonding is music therapy [3]. It is feasible and well-tolerated by infants, parents, and staff even after extremely preterm birth [4,5]. Parents and staff perceived music therapy as valuable for development-promoting care in the neonatal intensive care unit [5]. Infants were not overstimulated by live-performed music therapy [5]

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