Music and Preemies: Research Documents Music's Power

Babies born prematurely are at increased risk for a host of health problems. But now research by Israeli scientists has uncovered a non-drug way to help preemies gain weight and grow stronger quickly. A new study by Dr. Dror Mandel and Dr. Ronit Lubetzky of the Tel Aviv Medical Center, which is affiliated with Tel Aviv University's Sackler School of Medicine, found premature infants exposed to thirty minutes of Mozart's music daily grew far more rapidly than premature babies not exposed to the classical music.

"It's not exactly clear how the music is affecting them, but it makes them calmer and less likely to be agitated," Dr. Mandel said in a statement to the media. "The repetitive melodies in Mozart's music may be affecting the organizational centers of the brain's cortex. Unlike Beethoven, Bach or Bartok, Mozart's music is composed with a melody that is highly repetitive. This might be the musical explanation. For the scientific one, more investigation is needed."

By measuring the physiological effects of music by Mozart played to pre-term newborns for 30 minutes, Dr. Mandel and Dr. Lubetzky and colleagues documented that when the babies were exposed to the music, they expended less energy -- a process that can lead to faster weight gain and growth. That's important because the sooner preemies attain an acceptable body weight, the sooner they can go home. The longer they have to stay in the hospital, the more they are exposed to possible infections. What's more, a healthy body weight is believed to strengthen their immune systems so the babies are more likely to avoid illness in the future.

The researchers pointed out that several other environmental effects, such as tactile stimulation (whether the baby is held and stroked adequately) and room lighting, are already known to affect the survival and benefit the health of fragile premature infants. The new study, however, is the first to directly study the effect of music on these newborns.

"Medical practitioners are aware that by changing the environment, we can create a whole new treatment paradigm for babies in neonatal care," Dr. Mandel stated. "The point of our research is to quantify these effects so that standards and care-guides can be developed. We still don't know the long-term effects of the music, or if other kinds of music will work just as well."

For more information:

http://www.aftau.org/site/News2?pag...

http://www.naturalnews.com/026668_t...

Music During a Ceasarean Birth

This is a very interesting study looking at the use of music during a Ceasarean birth.  Sometimes C-sections are scheduled in advance because of known problems and sometimes they become suddenly necessary because mother or baby is endangered.  Having your programmed iPod or headphones with you is a really good idea no matter you plan to deliver your baby!

BACKGROUND: Evidence on the benefits of music during caesarean section under regional anaesthesia to improve clinical and psychological outcomes for mothers and infants has not been established.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effectiveness of music during caesarean section under regional anaesthesia for improving clinical and psychological outcomes for mothers and infants.

SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group's Trials Register (30 September 2008).

SELECTION CRITERIA: We included randomised controlled trials comparing music added to standard care during caesarean section under regional anaesthesia to standard care alone.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors, Malinee Laopaiboon and Ruth Martis, independently assessed eligibility, risk of bias in included trials and extracted data. We analysed continuous outcomes using a mean difference (MD) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). MAIN RESULTS: One trial involving 76 women who planned to have their babies delivered by caesarean section met the inclusion criteria, but data were available for only 64 women. This trial was of low quality with unclear allocation concealment and only a few main clinical outcomes reported for the women. The trial did not report any infant outcomes. It appears that music added to standard care during caesarean section under regional anaesthesia had some impact on pulse rate at the end of maternal contact with the neonate in the intra-operative period (MD -7.50 fewer beats per minute, 95% CI -14.08 to -0.92) and after completion of skin suture for the caesarean section (MD -7.37 fewer beats per minute, 95% CI -13.37 to -1.37). There was also an improvement in the birth satisfaction score (maximum possible score of 35) (MD of 3.38, 95%CI 1.59 to 5.17). Effects on other outcomes were either not significant or not reported in the one included trial.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that music during planned caesarean section under regional anaesthesia may improve pulse rate and birth satisfaction score. However, the magnitude of these benefits is small and the methodological quality of the one included trial is questionable. Therefore, the clinical significance of music is unclear. More research is needed to investigate the effects of music during caesarean section under regional anaesthesia on both maternal and infant outcomes, in various ethnic pregnant women, and with adequate sample sizes.

Premature babies gain weight faster with Mozart!

Playing Mozart music to premature babies seems to help them gain weight faster and become stronger, new research found.



Once a day for two consecutive days, doctors played either 30 minutes of music by the 18th-century composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, or no music, to 20 pre-term babies at the Tel Aviv Medical Center in Israel. After listening to the music, the babies were calmer and so expended less energy than the no-music group. When babies' energy expenditure is decreased, they don't need as many calories to grow, so can gain weight and thrive more quickly – exactly what preemies need.



"It's not exactly clear how the music is affecting them, but it makes them calmer and less likely to be agitated," said researcher Dror Mandel, a lecturer at Tel Aviv University.



Though the sample size was small, the scientists said their findings were statistically significant.



Previous research has shown that music can reduce stress, decrease heart rate, and increase oxygen saturation in preterm infants. Oxygen saturation is a measure of the amount of oxygen carried in the blood relative to the maximum amount the blood could carry. When this number gets low it can be a sign of heart or lung problems.



The researchers didn't try playing any music other than Mozart's, so they don't know whether the effect would hold true for other tunes.



"We want to know if what we found is a Mozart effect, or just music," Mandel told LiveScience. "I think that other composers will also have effects, however it might be that the Mozart music has particular effects compared to other composers."



The researchers decided to try Mozart music because of a 1993 study that found that college students could temporarily improve their performance on spatial–temporal tasks by listening to a Mozart sonata for 10 minutes a day.



"The repetitive melodies in Mozart's music may be affecting the organizational centers of the brain's cortex," Mandel said. "Unlike Beethoven, Bach or Bartok, Mozart's music is composed with a melody that is highly repetitive."



However, the so-called Mozart effect has sometimes been taken too far. A company called Baby Einstein (now owned by Disney) that publishes a series of Baby Mozart videos and music disks offered a refund last year for all Baby Einstein videos, after receiving complaints that the company had falsely claimed the videos were educational.



The Israeli researchers plan to test out different kinds of music soon. One team member suggested that rap music might evoke the same response as Mozart, since it has a similar pulsating and repetitive frequency.



Mandel and his colleague Ronit Lubetzky published their findings in the January issue of the journal Pediatrics.

Lullabies for Mothers and Others

Pregnant women are concerned about lots of thing; some they can do something about and some they can't.  Often, the more psychologically aware women are worried about bonding with their baby, especially if it's their first child.  One of easiest and most enjoyable things you can do is to begin listening to some lullabies yourself.  Mothers have lulled their babies to sleep since the beginning to time.  It's the most natural thing in the world for a mother to hold her baby close and hum, croon, or sing to that precious child.

New mothers worry if they'll be able to soothe and comfort their infants when they begin to cry.  Knowing 5 or 6 different lullabies is a good way to feel a little more prepared and even reading the words can be very calming for the mother-to-be or new mother. 

There are literally hundreds if not thousands of lullabies from around the world and from ancient times until the present.  Many of my adult clients and patients who suffer from insomnia and they listen to lullabies themselves to get to sleep each night.  Sometimes they listen to music on a CD player or perhaps an MP3 player.  Whatever is most convenient and comfortable for mother and child is best.

Once the baby is born, singing to your child is the very best way to calm him or her.  If your baby heard these same lullabies in utero they will calm down even quicker because they sound familiar to baby and bring back memories of security, warmth and comfort.

Below is a quaint poem called “My Mother”. It was written by Ann Taylor (1783 –1866). She’s the sister of Jane Taylor, the author of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. Ann and Jane published books of rhymes and poems together.



The illustrations below were done by Walter Crane. Here’s what Crane wrote about it in 1910:

“My Mother” is mid-Victorian-just after crinolines had gone out-but mothers are always in fashion, bless them…


My Mother


Who fed me from her gentle breast,

And hush’d me in her arms to rest,

And on my cheek sweet kisses prest?

My Mother.


When sleep forsook my open eye,

Who was it sung sweet hushaby,

And rock’d me that I should not cry?

My Mother.

Who sat and watched my infant head,

When sleeping in my cradle bed,

And tears of sweet affection shed?

My Mother.

 
If you are pregnant now, or the mother of a newborn, do begin listening to and singing lullabies!  Your child will thank you and will benefit greatly!

What is the Mucous Plug and what does it do?

What is the mucous plug (or mucus plug)?
The mucous plug is a collection of cervical mucus that seals the opening of the cervix. It keeps bacteria and infection from entering into the cervix, providing a protective barrier for the developing baby.

What does the mucous plug look like?
Some women describe the mucous plug as looking more like the mucous in your nose. It may look like a thick glob of stringy mucous, thicker than what you would see with normal vaginal secretions. If you are close to going into labor you may see pink, brown, or red blood around the edges of the mucous plug. This is called the “bloody show”.

When do you lose your mucous plug?
Some women will lose their mucous plug or part of their mucous plug weeks before they go into labor. Losing your mucous plug does not always mean labor will begin shortly. Keep in mind that even if a woman has begun to dilate, it may be weeks before she actually goes into labor.

However, if you notice blood tinged mucous before your thirty-sixth week of pregnancy, notify your doctor right away.
As your body prepares for labor your cervix will begin to dilate and thin. As your cervix opens up, your mucous plug may fall out. Losing your mucous plug is a good sign that labor is on its way. Though, it could be days or even weeks after you lose your mucous plug before labor actually starts. Many women do not lose their mucous plug at one time; instead, they lose it more gradually. They may notice an increase in vaginal secretions weeks before they go into labor.

Should I call my doctor if I lose my mucous plug?
If you are full term and have lost your mucous plug, there is usually no need to call your doctor. You may lose your mucous plug weeks before labor starts. If you notice regular, timeable contractions after losing your mucous plug, follow your doctor’s protocol for proceeding to Labor and Delivery. If you have a history of preterm labor and you suspect you have lost your mucous plug, call your doctor right away. If you notice blood tinged mucous and are earlier than thirty-six weeks call your doctor immediately. Moreover, you should also call your doctor if you have sudden bright red bleeding. Bleeding can be a sign of placenta previa or placental abruption.