Ok so this study told us what mom’s have always known. Singing lullabies to your baby will calm them down. What made this study interesting is that the researchers were looking specifically at babies that were born prematurely and had breathing problems due to underdevelopment of their lungs, an infection, or were small for their age. Then they measured if live singing of lullabies, not recorded music, had any effect on how the babies slept, their levels of distress, and suckling behavior. They also utilized two specialized instruments designed to mimic the type of sounds that would be heard in the womb.

The concerns of the researchers in this study were that while the sterile environment of the NICU in the hospital provided life saving therapies for preemie babies the sounds of the NICU are difficult to control and can be over stimulating and disturbing to the sleep and rest patterns of the babies. Also it does nothing to help foster the bond between mother and baby.

For this study the researchers tested three different types of music and their effects on the preemie babies. The first an instrument called an ocean disc, is made of a disc with small metal balls in it which when played mimics the fluid sounds of the womb. A second instrument called a gato box, was used to provide a soft rhythmic sound to simulate the heartbeat sound heard in the womb. The last musical intervention was lullabies sung live either by the parent or a music therapist. If the parent had a song that they grew up hearing or singing they would use that song otherwise they sung “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”.  After the babies had one of the musical interventions they would measure heart rate, activity level, feeding and sleeping patterns. The researchers also measured stress levels of the parents.

There were significant improvements in all measures with the musical interventions. Here is how they broke down. The ocean disc lowered heart rate during playing and for a time afterwards, and increased the good sleep patterns. The gato box was had the positive effect of lowering heart rate and increasing active suckling. Live singing of lullabies caused the most positive changes. During singing the babies were more alert with a lower heart rate. Showing that they were not stressed just more engaged in their surroundings while also improving sleep patterns. The singing also increased calorie intake, improved general feeding behavior, and lowered parental stress levels.

This study shows how important the close physical contact and human interaction is even for the smallest of us. One of the most significant risks for preemie babies is the underdevelopment of their lungs, as this is the last system to form before birth. The live singing instinctively trains the babies on how to control their breathing and enhanced their development. The live singing is why this study showed such strong benefits for the babies over other studies that used recorded music. Oh and this study showed that it didn’t matter how good the parent could sing, the benefits were the same, so you can’t use that as an excuse. Now go sing proud to your baby!

Pediatrics 2013; 131:902-918

By Dr Scott Szela