Music therapy and musical stimulation in the context of prematurity: A narrative literature review from 2010–2015

Abstract

Aims and objectives To examine empirical studies of musical stimulation and music therapy carried out with preterm infants and their parents published from 2010–2015. Background Prematurity constitutes a global health problem that can impact the development of the preterm infant and the well‐being of the parents. Music‐based interventions may benefit the infant, parents and their relationship. In our review, we distinguished between musical stimulation and music therapy, as we found no previous studies that had made this distinction. Design This is a narrative literature review. Methods A search was undertaken in PubMed, PsycINFO and LILACS using the terms “music,” “music therapy,” “singing,” “prematurity” and “preterm.” Thirty studies were included and analysed according to the following categories: (i) aims of the study, (ii) participants, (iii) design, (iv) type of intervention, (v) assessment and measures and (vi) main results. Results The vast majority of the studies focused on the preterm infants and used an experimental design. Few studies carried out family‐centred interventions, despite this having been noted as an important factor in effective interventions. Musical stimulation studies used more recorded music, whereas music therapy studies used more individualised interventions with live music. Conclusions Both musical stimulation and music therapy demonstrated significant effects on preterm infants and their parents. However, compared to musical stimulation studies, interventions performed by music therapists provided more individualised care and tended to show greater effects on infants' physiological and behavioural responses. Relevance to clinical practice Our review showed that music therapy interventions may provide individualised, effective and family‐centred care. There is a significant need for these types of interventions in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Feasibility of Live-Performed Music Therapy for Extremely and Very Preterm Infants in a Tertiary NICU

“…Of note, that study did not regard music therapy, but rather a musical performance, as it was not individualized to infants. In infants born after 32 weeks' gestation, music therapy, as opposed to recorded music or live performance, has been reported to have positive effects on physiological states (i.e., lowered heart rate, lowered respiratory rate and improved oxygenation, thus well-tolerated by these infants), neurobehavioral profiles and feeding outcomes ( 16 ). Future research should focus on the effects of music therapy in extremely preterm infants on vital parameters, physiological stability and stress levels, because effects of this intervention show promising results in slightly older infants ( 7 , 9 , 17 ).…”

The evolution of family‐centered care: From supporting parent‐delivered interventions to a model of family integrated care

“…Parents can also effectively promote their infant's growth and development by performing massage (Niemi, 2017) and regularly reading or singing to their infant (Caskey, Stephens, Tucker, & Vohr, 2014;Palazzi, Nunes, & Piccinini, 2018;Scala et al, 2018). With training and support, parents can successfully perform infant pain assessment and provide interventions to prevent or lessen pain (e.g., touch, voice, skin-to-skin contact, and other nonpharmacological comfort measures) from common NICU procedures (Campbell-Yeo, Fernandes, & Johnston, 2011;Franck, Oulton, & Bruce, 2012;Hatfield, Murphy, Karp, & Polomano, 2019).…”

Music Therapy Intervention for the Mother-Preterm Infant Dyad: Evidence from a Case Study in a Brazilian NICU

“…The therapist's singing and guitar accompaniment were used as a resource of interaction with the mother-infant dyad, which contributed to establish the therapeutic relationship. However, studies with these characteristics are not so com-mon, since most research involves short and specific interventions, rarely addressed to the dyad and generally to the infant (Palazzi, Nunes, & Piccinini, 2017).…”

“…According to the recent review of literature conducted by Palazzi, Nunes, and Piccinini (2017), music therapy interventions carried out by music therapists can be found among the music-based interventions in the NICU (Ettenberger et al, 2014;Haslbeck, 2014;Loewy, Stewart, Dassler, Telsey, & Homel, 2013;Standley et al, 2010;Ullsten, Eriksson, Klässbo, & Volgsten, 2016), as well as musical stimulation interventions conducted by other healthcare professionals (Alipour, Eskandari, Ahmari Tehran, Eshagh Hossaini, & Sangi, 2013;Keidar, Mandel, Mimouni, & Lubetzky, 2014) or by parents (Arnon et al, 2014;Filippa, Devouche, Arioni, Imberty, & Gratier, 2013;Nöcker-Ribaupierre, Linderkamp, & Riegel, 2015). These interventions can employ a receptive approach with recorded sounds and music (Alipour et al, 2013;Standley et al, 2010), or an active approach through live music and singing (Ettenberger et al, 2014;Haslbeck, 2014;Loewy et al, 2013;Malloch et al, 2012;Ullsten et al, 2016).…”