Excellent Book on Music Therapy with Premature Infants

This week I ordered a book that looks great and is chock-full
of helpful and important information for the parent or friend of a Preemie or a Newborn.
The book is called "Music Therapy for Premature and Newborn Infants" and the author is Monika Nocker-Ribaupierre. Publisher is Barcelona publishers and I got it from Amazon.com. If you go to my site, www.HealingMusicEnterprises.com/amazon.html you can go directly to Amazon and search for this book which will come up immediately. I paid almost $25.00 for the book, but like I say, it is chock-full or helpful info.

Enjoy!

Alice

The "Baby-Whisperer" in Boston

In the city of Boston, Mass, lives a woman known as the "baby whisperer." Enny Wiederhold , an 81-year-old with curly brown hair and a confident gait, is a highly-valued volunteer and Brigham and Women's Hospital. The Boston Globe reports "Three times a week, she drives from her home in Winchester to the hospital, where she stays for hours, stroking and holding prematurely born babies so fragile they sometimes stay in the hospital for months after their birth. Her job is to lull babies to sleep when their parents cannot be there, because they work, have other children, or live far from the hospital.
It is a job Wiederhold took on more than 15 years ago, when she came to the hospital bored with retirement and eager to use the skills she honed over 15 years as a nurse, even if it meant working as a volunteer.
Doctors have long known that quieting and stroking a crying baby has powerful benefits for their health. When babies, especially premature ones, cry, they waste energy that otherwise can be used to build their young bodies. Cradling babies comforts them and helps quiet and lull them."

Add a lullaby to this and you have one happy, serene baby!

Lullabies for Animals??

The saga continues with the two stranded whales being led back to their home in the ocean. These creatures somehow got into a shipping lane in San Francisco Bay and have been hurt because of bumping into ships and boats. Scientists have tried playing recordings of whales feeding, mating, and even lullabies that they sing to their young. So far, no luck, but the work continues!

There is a theory that when babies are played music or sung to with the same melodies or tunes over and over, they become conditioned to feeling love and nurturance when they hear this music. All humans and probably most animals need to sing to their young and create this powerful association between sound and music with love, caring and nurturance!

Music in the NICU

When I was in NYC last week speaking to a hospital OB/GYN Grand Rounds, there was some discussion of the various ways music can be used in the NICU. Much of the research that has benn done in this area comes from FSU in Tallahassee and it appears that individual speakers or music delivery into each isolette is the norm. The smaller and frailer the infant, the more sensitive their ears are apt to be so the volume level and type of music must be chosen on an individual basis and then the staff must observe the infant's immediate and long-term reaction very carefully for any sign of discomfort or pain. That's the last thing we want to subject our tiniest patients to.

We also talked about the musical pacifier that plays ten seconds of a lullaby when the least amount of pressure is exerted on the nipple. This motivates the infant to suck more and harder, thus enabling them to suck better and gain weight faster. Very ingenious!

Generally speaking, lullabies or the mother softly singing is best. Stay tuned for my new ebook on "Music with Preemies" which should be coming out in the next few weeks! Have a great week-end!

Dr. Cash Speaks to OB-GYN Staff in NYC

Today I had the great pleasure of speaking at Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY. The staff there was warm and welcoming to me and received the information on music with pregnancy, preemies and newborns enthusiastically! My topic was "The Importance of Music with Pregnancy, Preemies, and Newborns." The residents, nurses, doctors, and guests asked great questions and shared personal stories that greatly enhanced the hour. I talked a little more than I expected to about the work of Jayne Standley and her musical pacifier which plays music when a preemie sucks on it, thus reinforcing the baby's desire to suck and resulting in faster weight gain and faster discharge from the NICU.

I'll write more about this in the days to come. Please feel free to write in your questions!

The Best-laid Plans

If you read last night's post, you know that I am going to NYC today to give a presentation on music with pregnancy, preemies and newborns on Thursday. I was supposed to almost be there by now but I got a phone call early this morning saying that my flight was delayed! I will have been in the Louisville airport for over three hours by the time I get on the plane. I sure would rather have spent those three hours in bed!!

But, of course I have my work with me and so have done a little but mostly just enjoyed people-watching and sipping on Starbucks skinny latte.

While at the hospital where I'm speaking o Thursday, I'm hoping to see their NICU and talk to them about how they use music with their tiny babes. I know they are using lullabies with circumcisions. Any questions you'd like me to ask?

Alice

Off to NYC to reveal music with infants techniques

Just wanted to let you know one last time before I leave for a speaking engagement in NYC that while I am there I will have a few slots still available for consultations or meetings. I'll be speaking at Grand Rounds at Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn on Thursday morning, April 5th at 9:00 a.m.
I know that I have quite a few readers in New York City so please don't hesitate to call me at 502-419-1698 if you'd like to meet!
On Tuesday night, April 3rd, I'll be attending an orchestra concert in Carnegie Hall. My sister, Catherine Hudnall will be conducting the Norcross High School Orchestra and many of us will be attending this wonderful concert!
My presentation at Lutheran Hospital is entitled "The Importance of Music with Pregnancy, Preemies, and Newborns." It is a review of studies in all of these areas over the last decade as well as my recommendations for the pregnant woman, obstetricians and pediatricians. If you have any interest in this topic, contact me immediately so that I can put you on my 2007-2008 calendar.
The "Lullabies for Mother-Baby Bonding" CD is still a top seller and I'm planning to start offering bulk discounts for hospitals, nurseries, and large families!
Thanks for being a faithful reader!