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Cell Biology JoVE (Open Access) Citable · DOI

Clinical Practice Protocol of Creative Music Therapy for Preterm Infants and Their Parents in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

DOI: 10.3791/60412-v
What you'll learn
  • ✓ Implement vocal interaction and singing techniques with preterm infants in NICU settings
  • ✓ Facilitate creative music therapy during parent-infant skin-to-skin care sessions
  • ✓ Assess therapist-infant and mother-infant synchronization outcomes
  • ✓ Adapt music therapy protocols for family-integrated early intervention
Protocol

Creative music therapy for preterm infants and their parents has emerged as a promising family-integrated early intervention. We present a detailed protocol on how to use vocal interaction, humming, or singing to empower preterm infants and their families.

Difficulty
intermediate
Total time
~20–30 min per session; typical intervention course spans multiple sessions over weeks

Steps

1
Prepare environment and establish therapeutic rapport

Set up the NICU bedside or incubator space and orient parents to the creative music therapy protocol. Establish initial contact and readiness with the preterm infant and caregivers.

▶ 02:24
2
Deliver creative music therapy at bedside

Use vocal interaction, humming, or singing directly with the preterm infant at the bedside or incubator. Observe infant responses and adjust tempo and pitch based on behavioral cues.

▶ 04:08
3
Conduct music therapy during parental skin-to-skin contact

Facilitate creative music therapy while parents engage in skin-to-skin care with the preterm infant. Use vocalization to support bonding and family integration during this critical contact period.

▶ 06:47
4
Evaluate therapist-infant and mother-infant synchronization

Observe and document synchronization patterns between therapist and infant, and between mother and infant, including behavioral and physiological responses during and after music therapy sessions.

▶ 09:14
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