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Music therapy (MT) is a part of standard care in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) in many countries, and in some countries is provided as a post-discharge service as well. However, it is rare that preterm families are offered continuous MT services from birth through their first months at home. Affiliated with a recent longitudinal, controlled trial of MT for parent-infant bonding and an associated qualitative study exploring lived experiences of MT post-discharge in an Israeli cohort of parent participants, this study aimed to understand parents' experiences of engaging in longer-term MT with their preterm infants, spanning from birth into six months in a different Israeli cohort from the main trial. We completed an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) of parents' experiences of music therapy with their preterm infants. Semi-structured interviews intertwining listening to audio recordings from MT sessions were conducted with seven participants from five families of the main trial. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed following principles of IPA. The analysis resulted in the construction of two super-ordinate themes: (a) MT as a therapeutic haven, and (b) MT enabling integration of music into relationship over time. Experiences of a small cohort of Israeli parents suggest that MT spanning from birth to home may play a role in supporting parental musical agency and enhancing parent-infant relationship building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report three preterm infants who were treated with paracetamol for hemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus and developed acute hemolysis. No other apparent cause of acute hemolysis was found during Neonatal Intensive Care Unit hospitalization. All three infants were born within 1 year. As this side effect of paracetamol has not been reported previously and many preterm infants receive paracetamol for PDA closure, we advocate awareness. We cannot be sure whether the hemolysis occurred due to an underlying cause that was augmented by paracetamol or whether the drug itself caused acute hemolysis in these preterm infants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unbuffered stress levels may negatively influence preterm-infants’ autonomic nervous system (ANS) maturation, thus affecting neurobehavior and psycho-emotional development. Music therapy (MT) is an evidence-based treatment modality in neonatal care. When coupled with skin-to-skin care (SSC), it may reduce stress responses in both preterm infants and their parents and enhance family-centered care. Accordingly, we aimed to compare the effects of combined MT and SSC and SSC alone on ANS stabilization in preterm infants. In a single-center, cluster-randomized trial design, ten two-month time-clusters were randomized to either combined MT and SSC or SSC alone. Families of preterm infants were offered two sessions of the allocated condition in the NICU, and a three-month follow up session at home. The primary outcome variable was stabilization of the ANS, defined by change in the high frequency (HF) power of heart rate variability (HRV) during the second session. Secondary outcomes included other HRV measures, parent–infant attachment, and parental anxiety at each session. Sixty-eight families were included. MT combined with SSC improved infants’ ANS stability, as indicated by a greater increase in HF power during MT compared to SSC alone (mean difference 5.19 m²/Hz, SE = 1.27, p < 0.001) (95% confidence interval 0.87 to 2.05). Most secondary outcomes were not significantly different between the study groups. MT contributes to preterm-infants’ autonomic stability, thus laying an important foundation for neuro-behavioral and psycho-emotional development. Studies evaluating longer-term effects of MT on preterm infants’ development are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Kangaroo care ( KC) and maternal singing benefit preterm infants, and we investigated whether combining these benefitted infants and mothers. Methods A prospective randomised, within-subject, crossover, repeated-measures study design was used, with participants acting as their own controls. We evaluated the heart rate variability ( HRV) of stable preterm infants receiving KC, with and without maternal singing. This included low frequency ( LF), high frequency ( HF) and the LF/ HF ratio during baseline (10 min), singing or quiet phases (20 min) and recovery (10 min). Physiological parameters, maternal anxiety and the infants' behavioural state were measured. Results We included 86 stable preterm infants, with a postmenstrual age of 32-36 weeks. A significant change in LF and HF, and lower LF/ HF ratio, was observed during KC with maternal singing during the intervention and recovery phases, compared with just KC and baseline (all p-values <0.05). Maternal anxiety was lower during singing than just KC (p = 0.04). No differences in the infants' behavioural states or physiological parameters were found, with or without singing. Conclusion Maternal singing during KC reduces maternal anxiety and leads to autonomic stability in stable preterm infants. This effect is not detected in behavioural state or physiological parameters commonly used to monitor preterm infants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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