Search Results (4)

Background: Supported infant-directed singing (IDS) for parents and their preterm infants has proven beneficial for parents and preterm infants’ health and relationship building. Studying parent–infant contingent interactions through behavioral observations is an established method for assessing the quality of interactions. Very few studies have measured contingency between parent and preterm infants in the neonatal period during supported IDS. Methods: We conducted a feasibility study to assess the possibility of analyzing parent–very preterm infant dyads’ contingency during supported IDS in the NICU. We recruited four mother–infant dyads and video-recorded a single music therapy (MT) session before their discharge from the hospital. Two independent researchers coded three selected segments (beginning, middle, and end) from each video, according to adapted behavioral scales with inter-rater agreement analysis. Contingency between infant and maternal behaviors was analyzed. Results: Twelve video segments were coded. High inter-rater agreements (Cohen’s kappa) were found for infant eye-opening (0.93), hand positions (0.79), and head orientation (0.94), as well as maternal head orientation (0.95) and vocalizations (0.95). During supported IDS, increased infant head orientation toward the mother, eyes closed, as well as maternal head orientation toward the infant (all p < 0.001), were recorded compared to no IDS. Direction of the maternal head toward her infant was contingent on the infant’s closed eyes, extended hands, and head not toward mother. Conclusions: This feasibility study demonstrates contingency between mothers and their preterm infants’ specific behaviors during IDS. These interactions can be analyzed through video segments with high inter-rater agreement. The method described might help in evaluating other modalities that might be related to contingency. Recent advances in AI can make this tool easier to accomplish, with further studies to evaluate the importance of contingency for child development. The findings suggest that supported IDS influences infant attention and regulation. Full article

Background: While parent-delivered pain management has been demonstrated to effectively reduce neonatal procedural pain responses, little is known about to what extent it is utilized. Our aim was to explore the utilization of parents in neonatal pain management and investigate whether local guidelines promote parent-delivered interventions. Methods: A web-based survey was distributed to neonatal units worldwide. Results: The majority of the 303 responding neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) from 44 countries were situated in high-income countries from Europe and Central Asia. Of the responding units, 67% had local guidelines about neonatal pain management, and of these, 40% answered that parental involvement was recommended, 27% answered that the role of parents in pain management was mentioned as optional, and 32% responded that it was not mentioned in the guidelines. According to the free-text responses, parent-delivered interventions of skin-to-skin contact, breastfeeding, and parental live singing were the most frequently performed in the NICUs. Of the responding units, 65% answered that parents performed some form of pain management regularly or always. Conclusions: There appears to be some practice uptake of parent-delivered pain management to reduce neonatal pain in high-income countries. Additional incorporation of these interventions into NICU pain guidelines is needed, as well as a better understanding of the use of parent-delivered pain management in low- and middle-income countries. Full article

(1) Background: Preterm infants spend their first weeks of life in the hospital partially separated from their parents and subjected to frequent potentially painful clinical procedures. Previous research has found that early vocal contact reduces infant pain perception while simultaneously increasing oxytocin (OXT) levels. The current study aims to assess the effect of maternal singing and speaking on mothers. (2) Methods: During a painful procedure over two days, twenty preterm infants were randomly exposed to their mother’s live voice (speaking or singing). Maternal OXT levels were measured twice: before and after singing, as well as before and after speaking. The anxiety and resilience responses of mothers were studied before and after the two-day interventions, regardless of the speaking/singing condition. OXT levels in mothers increased in response to both singing and speech. Concurrently, anxiety levels decreased, but no significant effects on maternal resilience were found. (3) Conclusions: OXT could be identified as a key mechanism for anxiety regulation in parents, even in sensitive care situations, such as when their infant is in pain. Active involvement of parents in the care of their preterm infants can have a positive effect on their anxiety as well as potential benefits to their sensitivity and care abilities through OXT. Full article

The fetal environment provides the fetus with multiple potential sources of rhythmic stimulation that are not present in the NICU. Maternal breathing, heartbeats, walking, dancing, running, speaking, singing, etc., all bathe the fetus in an environment of varied rhythmic stimuli: vestibular, somatosensory, tactile, and auditory. In contrast, the NICU environment does not offer the same proportion of rhythmic stimulation. After analyzing the lack of rhythmic stimulation in the NICU, this review highlights the different proposals for vestibular and/or auditory rhythmic stimulation offered to preterm infants alone and with their parents. The focus is on the beneficial effects of auditory and vestibular stimulation involving both partners of the mother–infant dyad. A preliminary study on the influence of a skin-to-skin lullaby on the stability of maternal behavior and on the tonic emotional manifestations of the preterm infant is presented as an example. The review concludes with the importance of introducing rhythmic stimulations in the NICU. Full article