Since the 1970s, studies have been conducted that explore the inherent capacity that music has to heal premature infants. These studies have been led by neuroscientists, medical professionals and certified music therapists and show the phenomenal benefits music therapy has on these infants. It is an incredible field of study that warrants continued research and practice.

An estimated fifteen million premature infants are born annually around the globe. The extreme vulnerability of these infants necessitates the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). It is an environment that is both life saving and necessary for their survival, and yet at the same time this environment is detrimental to many aspects of their ongoing development. Prior to premature birth, the nurturing environment of the mother’s womb was a safe haven for the prenatal infant. The highly stressful and often painful environment of the NICU sharply contrasts this. 

Research has been ongoing since the early 1970s as to how music therapy can help premature infants in the NICU and the body of literature in this field has grown exponentially since its beginnings. Common threads weave throughout the literature, with the research centering around measurable physiological attributes, the most common being heartrate, oxygen saturation, and respiratory rate. Pain management has also been a focus in the literature.

Music therapy interventions used in the NICU are continuing to gain refinement. An evidence-based treatment model that replicates the medical model of evidence-based treatment is used. This means that there is an assessment of the medical condition, followed by a diagnosis, which in turn is followed by the implementation of a music therapy intervention.

Music heals in ways that medicine can not. Premature infants are vulnerable, and they need the lifesaving environment of the NICU to remain alive. As much as this environment is lifesaving, it also adversely affects their health and the ability music has to heal and nurture is a beautiful phenomenon that should be continually explored and used in the field of medicine. Please read more about my research in this article: Music in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.