Family-Centered Music Therapy with Preterm Infants in Perception of their Parents |Biomedgrid

Premature birth places considerable demands on preterm infants and their families. Almost all these children must stay in a neonatal intensive care unit immediately after their birth, which means that the parents are exposed to increased psychosocial stress. Building a stable parent-child bond is often difficult due to the special situation. We hypothesized that an accompaniment with live music therapy by a qualified music therapist supports the parents in building relationships with their preterm infant. Forty preterm infants born with a gestational age less than 32 weeks received music therapy twice a week until they were discharged from the hospital. At the time of discharge, the parents completed a questionnaire to evaluate the effectiveness of the music therapy. We saw that 94% of the parents were able to relax during the music therapy session. Many parents also noticed their children in a relaxed behavior during (91%) and after (88%) music therapy. The music therapy care was perceived by the parents as a positive change and enrichment in the hospital stay. All parents were thankful for the music therapy they received.