NICU music therapy and mother-preterm infant synchrony: A longitudinal case study in the South of Brazil

Abstract

ABSTRACT Introduction Having a hospitalised preterm baby is a traumatic experience that may affect parenting and parent-infant interaction. Music therapy in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) has been shown to foster the well-being of preterm infants and their mothers, but evidence about its effects on mother-infant interaction is still scarce. This case study explored the contributions of the Music Therapy Intervention for the Mother-Preterm Infant Dyad – MUSIP, to mother-preterm infant interaction. Method Participants were a mother and her extremely preterm son, hospitalised in a Brazilian NICU. The dyad participated in nine sessions of MUSIP, aimed at supporting maternal singing with the baby. In the NICU and then at home (4 months after discharge), the mother was interviewed and the mother-infant interaction was observed during two interactional contexts, breastfeeding and free interaction with singing. Results The video analysis showed that, during singing and right after singing, the dyad displayed more social behaviours and more synchronous co-occurrences. The thematic analysis of maternal interviews showed that MUSIP contributed to the mother’s and the infant’s empowerment and to mother-infant bonding. Discussion MUSIP empowered maternal competence to interact with the baby and facilitated synchrony, which may act as a protective factor for the infant’s development, for maternal well-being, and for mother-infant bonding.