Family-centered music therapy—Empowering premature infants and their primary caregivers through music: Results of a pilot study

Abstract

Background In Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) premature infants are exposed to various acoustic, environmental and emotional stressors which have a negative impact on their development and the mental health of their parents. Family-centred music therapy bears the potential to positively influence these stressors. The few existing studies indicate that interactive live-improvised music therapy interventions both reduce parental stress factors and support preterm infants’ development. Methods The present randomized controlled longitudinal study (RCT) with very low and extremely low birth weight infants (born <30+0 weeks of gestation) and their parents analyzed the influence of music therapy on both the physiological development of premature infants and parental stress factors. In addition, possible interrelations between infant development and parental stress were explored. 65 parent-infant-pairs were enrolled in the study. The treatment group received music therapy twice a week from the 21st day of life till discharge from hospital. The control group received treatment as usual. Results Compared to the control group, infants in the treatment group showed a 11.1 days shortening of caffeine therapy, 12.1 days shortening of nasogastric/ orogastric tube feed and 15.5 days shortening of hospitalization, on average. While these differences were not statistically significant, a factor-analytical compound measure of all three therapy durations was. From pre-to-post-intervention, parents showed a significant reduction in stress factors. However, there were no differences between control and treatment group. A regression analysis showed links between parental stress factors and physiological development of the infants. Conclusion This pilot study suggests that a live-improvised interactive music therapy intervention for extremely and very preterm infants and their parents may have a beneficial effect on the therapy duration needed for premature infants before discharge from hospital is possible. The study identified components of the original physiological variables of the infants as appropriate endpoints and suggested a slight change in study design to capture possible effects of music therapy on infants’ development as well. Further studies should assess both short-term and long-term effects on premature infants as well as on maternal and paternal health outcomes, to determine whether a family-centered music therapy, actually experienced as an added value to developmental care, should be part of routine care at the NICU.

Maternal Anxiety, Infant Stress, and the Role of Live-Performed Music Therapy during NICU Stay in The Netherlands

“…Several other studies confirm the positive effects of music therapy on maternal anxiety in the NICU, by providing music therapy to the mother and infant [ 20 , 36 , 37 ], or to parents alone as part of a self-care group [ 38 ]. In contrast, a recent study [ 39 ] investigating family centered music therapy for preterm infants could not demonstrate a reduction in maternal anxiety after music therapy intervention. We believe that the late onset of music therapy after the first three weeks of life might be an explanation for the lack of reduction in maternal anxiety in that study.…”

WeChat‐based remote follow‐up management alleviates the home care burden and anxiety of parents of premature infants: Randomized controlled study

“…Preterm birth not only affects the healthy development of premature infants but is also an extremely stressful situation for their parents that can lead to substantial pressure and burden (Carson et al, 2015;Menke et al, 2021). Due to their low gestational age and low weight at birth, the immature development of various systems and organs, poor sucking and swallowing function and insufficient secretion of digestive enzymes, preterm infants are prone to various complications T A B L E 1 Demographic characteristics of patients and their parents in two groups (mean ± SD or numbers/frequencies) Abbreviations: FCTI, Family Caregiver Task Inventory; SAS, Self-Rating Anxiety Scale; SDS, Self-Rating Depression Scale; ZBI, Zarit Burden Interview.…”

“…Preterm birth not only affects the healthy development of premature infants but is also an extremely stressful situation for their parents that can lead to substantial pressure and burden (Carson et al, 2015; Menke et al, 2021). Due to their low gestational age and low weight at birth, the immature development of various systems and organs, poor sucking and swallowing function and insufficient secretion of digestive enzymes, preterm infants are prone to various complications (Field et al, 2010).…”

Effective stress intervention programs for parents of premature children: A systematic review

“…Menke et al. (2021) did not find differences between the control and treatment groups, although there is a reduction in stress from pre‐to‐post‐intervention. On the other hand, Palazzi et al.…”

“…Menke et al. (2021) made the Family‐centred music therapy. Premature infants and their families received interactive live‐improvised music therapy.…”