A-Z List


Newborns

Journal Articles

by Jeremy Strasburg
May 31, 2000

Standley, J. M., & Madsen, C. K. (1990). Comparison of infant preferences and responses to auditory stimuli: Music, mother, and other female voice. Journal of Music Therapy. 27, 2.

Studies were done on pleasing and displeasing sounds to babies, before and after they were born. Newborns can actually hear during the last trimester while still in their mother’s womb. The studies revealed preferences for spoken words to noise, mother’s voice to a male voice, music to noise, and vocal music to non-vocal music.
Cassidy, J. W., & Ditty, K. M. (1998). Presentation of aural stimuli to newborns and premature infants. Journal of Music Therapy. 35, 2.

The study discussed within this article was done in part to develop a standardized protocol for use of musical stimuli with infants. The infants used in the study were either premature or infants that were newly born and were receiving special care within a hospital. Different experiments involved duration of stimuli per day, method of stimuli presentation, placement of speakers, and decibel level.
Owens, L. D. (1979). The effects of music on the weight loss, crying and physical movement of newborns. Journal of Music Therapy. 16, 2.

This study involved 29 normal newborns that were all exposed to routine auditory stimulation. Another 30 newborns were exposed to taped musical stimulation. The musical stimuli were given regularly throughout the day at certain intervals. No significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of weight loss, percentage of babies crying, or percentage of babies moving their arms, legs, or head.
Caine, J. (1991). The effects of music on the selected stress behaviors, weigh, caloric and formula intake, and the length of hospital stay of premature and low birth weight neonates in a Newborn Intensive Care Unit. Journal of Music. 28, 4.

Fifty-two preterm and low birth weight newborns in a newborn intensive care unit who were in stable condition were subjects in this study. The experimental group of newborns, which consisted of 11 males and 15 females, received regular auditory stimulation such as lullabies, children’s music, and routine vocal stimulation. The results of the study suggested that this stimulation increased average weight gain per day and reduced initial weight loss while in the intensive care unit.
Cassidy, J. W., &Standley, J. M. (1995). The effect of music listening on physiological responses of premature infants in the NICU. Journal of Music Therapy. 32, 4.

Twenty low birth weight infants were being oxygenated during their first week of life and were used for this study. Half of the newborns served as the experimental group and half as the control group. The experimental group listened to lullabies through headphones for given periods of time over three days. The results showed that music had noticeably positive effects on oxygen saturation levels, heart rate, and respiratory rate.
Standley, J. M. (1991). The role of music in pacification/stimulation of premature infants with low birth weight. Perspectives. 9.

This article describes the problems of premature infants with low birth weight, reviews the literature on fetal and neonatal responses to auditory stimuli, and analyzes the results for the development of effective early intervention techniques which incorporate music. Sample activities for both infant pacification/stimulation and parent training are given, and the role of music therapy in the development of comprehensive early intervention systems are discussed.
Loewy, J. V. (1995). The musical stages of speech: A developmental model of pre-verbal sound making. Music Therapy. 13, 1.

This article discusses the development of speech for newborns. It describes the basic stages that newborns go through such as crying/making comfort sounds, babbling and using inflected vocal play, and producing single and double word utterances. As these stages are discussed, techniques that enhance vocalizing are offered to help the newborn develop speech and move to the next developmental level easily.
Tyson, F. (1982). Individual singing instructions: An evolutionary framework for psychiatric music therapists. Perspectives. 1, 1.

The main focus of this paper discusses how music therapists can use their psychiatric patient’s love of music for rehabilitation purposes. Newborns are referred to in this paper when it discusses how it relates to the biological and adaptation phenomena.
Shiraishi, I. M. (1997). A home-based music therapy program for multi-risk mothers. Perspects 15, 1.

The study in this article involved a wide array of participants. Newborns were only one group within the experiments. The focus of the study was to use five psychological inventories to evaluate levels of depression and to examine any affect on increasing self-esteem.
Staum, M. J.(1981). An analysis of movement in therapy. Journal of Music Therapy. 15, 1.

This article discusses a study that looks at different kinds of movement as it relates to people of different ages and situations. Movement is compared among autistic children, newborns, and kindergarten children. The results from these observations help people understand variations in developmental rates and opportunities to use music to target therapeutic goals such as range of motion.
Staum, M. J. (1983). Music and rhythmic stimuli in the rehabilitation of Gait Disorders. Journal of Music Therapy. 20, 2.

Music and rhythmic stimulation is given to newborns in this study and their motor systems are observed. Other factors considered for observation within this article are cardiovascular endurance, pursuit rotor tasks and physical education performance.
Marley, L. S. (1984). The use of music with hospitalized infants and toddlers: A descriptive study. Journal of Music Therapy. 21, 3.

This article discussed a program that was used with certain patients ranging in age from 5 weeks to 36 months. When nurses had difficulty getting patients to sleep, music was used to help induce sleep. Musical toys, mobiles, guitars, and vocal music were used to provide the music. Also during these sessions heartbeats were simulated on the backs of these patients to produce a mothering, calming effect.
Standley, J. M. (1986). Music research in medical/dental treatment: Meta-analysis and clinical applications. Journal of Music Therapy 23, 2.

This article discusses a couple of different studies relating to newborns. In one study lullabies were used within a neonate nursery to investigate the effects on weight gain and movement in newborns. Another study revealed that infants were physiologically responsive to both heartbeat and music as noted through observing different behaviors such as thumb sucking.
Reilly, J. F. (1997). A correlational study of the Gesturo-musical responses of in-patients with acute manic or depressive symptomatology using the LIGHTNING Module. Journal of Music Therapy. 34, 4.

This study discusses the LIGHTNING module which allows both music and movement therapists to draw from a new pool of information that Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) technology is offering. Specifically, the LIGHTNING module translates gesture into music by creating infrared zones in a three-dimensional space. Once a common language between disciplines is established, information about all studies, including newborns, will be more readily available.
Briggs, C. A. (1991). A model for understanding musical development. Music Therapy. 10, 1.

This article discusses the attempt to merge all research dealing with child development and music development into a model that integrates them both. Different skill areas involved in these research categories include auditory, vocal/tonal, rhythmic, and cognitive musical development. A four phase model of musical development is presented. These four phases are auditory, vocal/tonal, rhythmic, and cognitive musical development.