The Hospital Clínic Barcelona incorporated music therapy as a support tool in neonatal care in the NICU over 6 years ago. For the last few months, a study has been carried out to evaluate the impact that the practice of music therapy has on newborns and their families, and how it affects their quality of life. It is a study carried out thanks to a grant from the International University of Valencia (VIU), led by Dr. Óscar García- Algar, coordinator of Innovation and Research at the Clínic’s Neonatology Service, and Maria Aguilera, music therapist and teacher.
“The objective is to see whether music therapy has any beneficial effect on newborn babies, as well as on families and professionals”, explains Dr. García-Algar. They assess whether certain parameters improve, such as the number of days of hospitalization, milk production, and the baby’s weight gain. The study, “Effect of music therapy on preterm infants admitted to the NICU and their families" is based on the preliminary analysis and, for the moment, analysing the data collected, the results are positive. So, it seems that it is really beneficial and improves both biological variables and the quality of life of families”, says Dr. García-Algar.
Music therapy as a therapeutic tool in the NICU
Music therapy sessions are carried out in the NICU and consist of different parts. First, music is played for everyone, but then an individualized session is conducted with each participating family, with a relaxing sound massage through voice and various instruments. There is also a more active and participatory part where the family sings and plays an instrument, acquiring tools to stimulate their baby musically. Moreover, thanks to music therapy, noise pollution is reduced in the NICU where there is normally a lot of noise from all the machinery required to care for the hospitalized infants. The sessions provide the infants with different benefits. They decrease stress, foster a strong bond between the infant and his/her family, relax muscles, reduce pain, stabilize the infant’s heart rate and increase oxygen saturation in the blood.
Maria Aguilera, music therapist and teacher, has conducted these sessions at the Hospital Clínic Barcelona since 2018, when her twin daughters were hospitalized in the NICU. As an expression of gratitude, and following professional training in music therapy, she started offering this service voluntarily. “The response to the music therapy is fantastic. The families are very grateful for it because it is a moment that dignifies their time in the hospital”, she says.
Music therapy is positive because the right music has a positive effect on human beings and, therefore, on preterm infants, their families, and the healthcare team, who are going through a highly complex situation. Maria explains that, with music therapy, what she tries to do is to get closer to each family and “understand what specific needs each family has, and to link the entire session to their particular case”. “My personal experience was what guided me on this path, because through music and creativity I was able to better manage my premature motherhood and all that it entails both emotionally and physically. At the same time, it allowed me to communicate with my daughters, stimulate them in a very respectful and tender way that they loved, and to generate a close and genuine bond that continues today”, she recalls.
