Babies Research
Mothers’ Sounds Are Building Block for Babies’ Brains Douglas Quenqua 2015
A study with premature infants demonstrated that a mother’s voice and heartbeat may help the developing brain grow.
Flawed Research Invalidates: “Effects of Music Therapy on Vital Signs, Feeding, and Sleep in Premature Infants”.
M. Kathleen Philbin, RN, PhD, Infant Development Specialist Pragmatix
Excellent review of the study which caught the attention of the press in 2013. Shows how easy it is to accept data, particularly if in a journal, that has numerous flaws, i.e. irrelevant citations, no inter-rater reliability between all of the sites, background sound levels were not measured, meaningless data found significant, and others. What was shown to be effective, was singing to the infant while monitoring the rhythm, timbre and melody.
Baby HeartSongs for Premature Babies contains specifically composed music for babies and also includes special frequencies to increase growth and decrease pain and distress.
The Effects of Music Therapy by Mozart on Vital Signs and Weight gain in Preterm Infants
Esther Pozo Garcia, MD. Dept. of Pediatrics. Hospital Universitario Nuestra Senora de Candlaria 5/13/2013
Baby Mozart CD was used in study with 43 preterm infants who received 2 hours of music therapy: significant lower heart rate than controls. Weight gain at the end was significantly higher.
Fetus to Mom: You’re Stressing Me Out!
WebMD Feature http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=51730
A growing number of studies are confirming what used to be considered just an old wives’ tale — that stress really isn’t good for pregnant women. It not only increases the risk of pre-term labor, but possibly a host of other problems for babies after birth.
“Stress is a silent disease,” says Dr. Hobel, director of maternal-fetal medicine at Cedars Sinai and a professor of obstetrics/gynecology and pediatrics at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). “Pregnant women need to be educated in recognizing when they have stress, the consequences and some of the simple things they can do to make a difference.”
Pre-term births and low birth weight are among the most recognized effects of maternal stress during pregnancy, established over nearly two decades of animal and human research. Recent studies by Dr. Wadhwa and colleagues suggest that women who experience high levels of psychological stress are significantly more likely to deliver pre-term.
Pre-term babies are susceptible to a range of complications later, including chronic lung disease, developmental delays, learning disorders and infant mortality. There’s even compelling evidence from epidemiological studies and animal research that babies who experience stress in utero are more likely to develop chronic health problems as adults, such as heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.
Most recently, some studies are suggesting that stress in the womb can affect a baby’s temperament and neurobehavioral development. Infants whose mothers experienced high levels of stress while pregnant, particularly in the first trimester, show signs of more depression and irritability. In the womb, they also are slower to “habituate” or tune out repeated stimuli — a skill that, in infants, is an important predictor of IQ.
“Who you are and what you’re like when you’re pregnant will affect who that baby is,” says Janet DiPietro, a developmental psychologist at Johns Hopkins University. “Women’s psychological functioning during pregnancy — their anxiety level, stress, personality — ultimately affects the temperament of their babies. It has to … the baby is awash in all the chemicals produced by the mom.”
Music Listening in Neonatal Intensive Care Units: Fried Schwartz, M.D., Ruthann Ritchie, MT-BC
Excellent, lengthy article on the research in Piedmont Hospital, Atlanta GA including how to set up a music program. Click Here to read article.
Study Brings Mothers’ Voices to Incubators July 15, 2010 BWH Bulletin
At Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston MA small speakers perch in the corners of a 26 week old premature baby. The baby hears a personalized soundtrack consisting of his/her mother’s voice and heartbeat. ‘We now have the technology and skilled caregivers to ensure that most preemies will survive, but too often the still have neurodevelopmental problems. There is increasing evidence that some of these may be due to the impact of environment on the developing brain, “ said Steven Ringer, MD, PhD, chief of the Division of Newborn Medicine. “The potential of this study is enormous because it begins to explore how we might modify the NICU into a more supportive and appropriate environment, retaining some of the positive benefits of the womb”.
Infants enrolled in his study are exposed to 45 minutes of maternal sounds, four times per day, throughout their NICU hospitalization. Each infant receives a personalized soundtrack—consisting of his or her mother’s voice and heartbeat—that is played into the incubator via a specialized micro audio system designed by Lahav. Infants will undergo three MRI brain scans before discharge to determine the effects of soothing maternal sounds.
Baby HeartSongs for natural births contains specifically composed slow, quiet music, specific calming frequencies, and a loving message welcoming your newborn to this world.