The effect of music and multimodal stimulation on responses of premature infants in neonatal intensive care.

Abstract

To assess the benefits of lullaby singing and multimodal stimulation on premature infants in neonatal intensive care, 40 infants in a Level III Newborn Intermediate Care Unit were divided into control (n = 20) and experimental (n = 20) groups by pair matching on the basis of gender, birthweight, gestational age at birth and severity of medical complications. Participants met these project criteria: (a) corrected gestational age > 32 weeks; (b) age since birth > 10 days; and (c) weight > 1700 g. All participants had been referred for developmental stimulation by the medical staff. Experimental infants received reciprocal, multimodal (ATVV) stimulation paired with line singing of Brahms' Lullaby. Stimulation was provided for 15-30 minutes, one or two times per week from referral to discharge. Dependent variables were (a) days to discharge, (b) weight gain/day, and (c) experimental infants' tolerance for stimulation. Results showed that music and multimodal stimulation significantly benefited females' days to discharge and increased weight gain/day for both males and females. Both male and female infants' tolerance for stimulation showed marked and steady increase across the stimulation intervals with females' tolerance increasing more rapidly than males.