Therapeutic Effects of Music Therapy on Preterm Neonates-Pilot Study Report

The pre-term babies are more fragile to adopt extra uterine life. They struggle to maintain the temperature, oxygen saturation, heart and respiratory rates in normal range. Advances in neonatal care have increased the chance of survival of preterm babies. Therefore, many premature infants require care at a neonatal unit, for weeks or sometimes months, with specialized medical and nursing staff and equipment that can deal with problems faced by premature. Developmental care refers to a range of strategies designed to reduce the stress of NICU. These include reducing noise and light, minimal handling and giving longer rest periods. The sample consists of 60 preterm babies, between 1500gms to 2500gms admitted in NICU, 30 in each in experimental and control group. The intervention group received 30minutes of music therapy two times a day for 7 consecutive days. Physiological parameter was recorded before and after the intervention by using observational chart I and II.

Results-There was a significant difference in the physiological parameter between the control and experimental group after music therapy. Music therapy is a beneficial nursing intervention that promotes the health of the premature babies.