Music Therapy Is Effective during Sleep in Preterm Infants

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.

Impact of Physical Contact on Preterm Infants’ Vital Sign Response to Live Music Therapy

“…Clinically stable patients received live music therapy from the second week of life twice per week until their hospital discharge [ 12 , 30 ]. The music therapist coordinated the timing of the individual therapy sessions with the nursing staff and parents in compliance with clinical routine.…”

“…Research investigating long-term effects of music therapy is only evolving [ 7 , 8 ] but vital sign responses to music therapy as a surrogate parameter of short term-stabilisation has been well-studied [ 9 , 10 , 11 ]. Currently, the optimal setting in which music therapy should be applied is under investigation [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ].…”

Parents’ Perception of Family-Centered Music Therapy with Stable Preterm Infants

“…Some of these positive effects can already be observed during the intervention [ 10 ]. Live music therapy has a stabilizing effect on vital functions and is also effective during sleep [ 11 ]. It has recently been shown that live music therapy enhances the functional brain activity and even the brain structure in premature infants [ 12 ].…”

The benefits of music therapy on preterm infants in the intensive care unit

“…It is worth noting that music therapy without the voice has the same impact on the patient´s vital signs as other methods of MT, such as lullabies, conversations between parents and children, live music and the combination of other methods that stimulate the connection between parents and neonates. Among the methods of MT explored in other studies, it has been demonstrated that principally the HR shows changes under this adjuvant therapy [6,15,[18][19][20]. It is therefore understood that MT is an alternative therapy with signi cant results and that has the ability to bene t patients in the NICU.…”