The Combined Effects of Maternal Singing During Skin to Skin Contact (Kangaroo Care) in Preterm Infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Environment.

Maternal singing to preterm infants during Kangaroo Care intervention, is it beneficial?

Protocol

Maternal voice is a predominant source of multimodal stimulation for the developing fetus that is largely lost for the preterm infant amidst the unfiltered levels of auditory stimuli in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). These elevated levels of auditory stimulation in the NICU can interfere with an infant's sleep and have a negative effect on vital signs and oxygen saturation. Common sources of sound for the preterm infant are derived from routine incubator noise, monitoring alarms, and the speech sounds of healthcare team, all of which they would not typically encounter if life in the uterus had continued to term. In the midst of these additional sounds, preterm infants lose significant contact with an auditory stimulus they would typically be exposed to until full-term birth (their mothers' voice).

Skin to skin contact care (Kangaroo care) was found to produce cardiorespiratory stability, decrease apneic and periodic breathing, and improve sleep patterns and weight gain in preterm infants. This technique has also been shown to help mothers of preterm infants to develop and strengthen self-confidence and attachment behaviors, leading to reduced stress response. Live music was shown to have a beneficial effect on psychophysiological responses in both mothers and preterm infants during their stay in the NICU.

Aim: To evaluate the combined influence of live maternal singing during kangaroo care (KC) on maternal anxiety and stable preterm infants' responses.