At a time when babies are usually growing and developing in their mother’s womb, premature infants are exposed to the busy medical environment of the NICU and commonly endure painful treatments and procedures. The third trimester is critical for neurological development, but it can be disrupted by the stress these infants experience outside of the womb. NICU music therapy research shows that specific music therapy techniques help to increase premature infants’ tolerance to stimulation, resulting in faster weight gain and a shorter NICU stays overall. NICU Music Therapy trained MT-BCs use research-based techniques and treatments for our tiniest of patients.
The first therapeutic treatment is Multi-modal Neurodevelopmental Enhancement, which helps increase each baby’s tolerance to different types of stimulation in the NICU. Using live lullaby, infant-directed music, the music therapist systematically administers three different types of stimulation — auditory, tactile and vestibular. Through this process, each baby learns to tolerate the different sounds in the NICU as well as being touched and held. The second treatment involves using a device called the pacifier-activated lullaby (PAL) and is used to provide non-nutritive sucking and help preemies transition successfully in feeding. Research shows that babies treated with the PAL can gain weight and leave the hospital faster.