Perinatal Music Therapy: Using Doppler Recordings to Connect and Create

Abstract

Often the first sound of human life occurs in prenatal care when a Doppler ultrasound devicedetects the baby’s heartbeat. In late 2013 at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Brian Schreck, MA, MT-BC, piloted an innovative music therapy intervention that involved recording internal sounds of a patient’s life to create music with patients and their families. Many devices were explored and adapted: Doppler ultrasound devices, iPad apps, a constructed stethoscope microphone, an electronic stethoscope with Bluetooth, and other digital stethoscopes to record patients’ hearts beating and lungs breathing. This intervention aims to capture moments in time which may be preserved for future connection with the patient and family.

Musicoterapia Y Trauma en La Uci Neonatal: Intervención Multimodal Centrada en La Familia

“…Luego de la canción de parentesco, se propone a los padres grabar los latidos del corazón del bebé y se ofrece esta canción, conocida como Heart Song (canción del corazón) con la base rítmica del corazón del bebé modificada a tal fin. Para ello se utiliza un estetoscopio con un micrófono incorporado y Garage Band para la posterior edición (Schreck et. al.…”

Music therapy in tertiary neonatal intensive care: A matter of unlikely allies?

“…Amplified Cardiopulmonary Recordings, Hearts Beat Recordings, Music Therapy Heart Sounds or simply the HeartSong is a unique therapeutic approach, where the sound of the beating heart (child, parent or both) is recorded and translated into a meaningful song. 13,26 The goal of the HeartSong in the NICU is to leave a meaningfully translated lasting auditory memory of the patient. 13 It can also be used to record both parent and child's heartbeat to facilitate bonding using music composed around both heartbeats.…”

Music Therapy and Family-Integrated Care in the NICU

“…Another common MT intervention concept involves recording a patient heartbeat and integrating this heartbeat recording with live rhythmically parallel music. This intervention, sometimes called “heartbeat songs,” “heartbeat-music,” “music-heartbeat projects,” or “heartbeat music therapy,” is most reportedly used by music therapists for end-of-life support and bereavement 22. However, the theoretical implications of this intervention demonstrate promise for nonbereavement outcomes such as mother–infant bonding and increased parental participation in neonatal care.…”