Posted on 27/11/2018

Music for premature infants!

Through the ART-THERAPIE foundation www.arttherapie.org, Fondation Dora is supporting a new research program called “Accompagner le développement des nouveaux nés prématurés par la musique” (“Nurture the development of premature infants with music”). 

Extreme premature birth remains a contemporary issue. It is the main cause of neonatal death in the world, occurring during the first four weeks of life. Among the infants who survive, many will suffer developmental disorders, especially in terms of cognitive deficiencies, learning or behavioral disorders, as well as neurosensory damage.

The brain develops intensely during the last trimester of pregnancy. This development usually takes place in the protected environment of the womb. But for premature infants it takes place in the intensive care unit, which is a much louder and more stressful environment. Unlike noise, the rhythmic and regular quality of music attracts an infant’s attention and stimulates not only the auditory cortex but many other neural networks.

 

In order to better understand these developments, a research project has been set-up at the Children’s Hospital at the University Hospital of Geneva. The project is supervised by Prof. Petra Hüppi, Department Head.

The goal of this project is to show that during the neonatal period, listening regularly to music that is suitable for the premature newborn is an effective early intervention with a positive impact on brain development, which can even mitigate certain handicaps caused by premature birth, such as emotional, cognitive, and neuro-behavioral disorders.