Preemies and Lullabies: Sing to your baby!

Are you pregnant or do you have a preemie? Both situations can be scary, especially if it's your first time. When a woman first finds out that she is pregnant, the last thing she is thinking about is whether or not the baby might come prematurely...not unless she has a history of pre-term pregnancies.

Understanding and being aware of the healing power of music with preemies can be very reassuring to the mother-to-be or to the new mother. Here are some important facts about music with preemies and newborns that you may not know.

1. The fetal ear is beginning to function at the beginning of the second trimester. In the beginning, baby hears mothers heartbeat, her blood circulating and other bodily functions such as digestive processes. By the beginning of the third trimester, baby can clearly hear conversations and lots of the same sound that mother is hearing.

2. Babies love their mothers' voices and are not at all critical. This is the voice they associate with nurture, safety, warmth and security.

3. When mother sings or hums to baby, the vibrations create a lovely and loving sonic massage for baby which strengthens the emotional bond between baby and mother.

4. Research studies have documented that babies who are sung to in the NICU and also in the newborn nursery gain weight faster, stabilize their vital signs faster, cry less and go home sooner.

5. Anecdotal research tells us that the songs that are sung to baby, often elicit a positive behavioral effect through the pre-school years, especially if they are reinforced regularly.

With information like this, I believe that mothers around the world will start singing to their child, born or unborn on a daily basis. I believe that the only thing that stops most mothers from singing to their babies is the belief that their voice isn't good enough. Mother must remember that her voice is the one that baby has been hearing for nine months or almost nine months and it is this voice that brings comfort to her baby!

What about CD's or tiny MP3 players? Those are second best. If mother is going to be away for an extended period (over 24 hours for a newborn), recording her voice singing the same half dozen songs that she sang before birth, would be a good idea.

There are hundreds of lullaby CD's on the market, including one you can purchase from me. In addition, you can sing any soothing, comforting song that comes to mind, including Christmas Carols, folksongs, pop tunes that are slow and happy sounding or best of all create your own! Songs and lullabies have been sung for thousands of years. What better heirloom could be passed from generation to generation?!