A study has shown that a musical pacifier that records mother’s voice improves the growth and development of premature babies who cannot breastfeed.
A musical pacifier to stimulate premature babies. A study, recently published in Pediatrics, has shown that newborns who suckle this device leave the hospital earlier than other babies.
Often when they are born, premature babies have not developed the ability to breastfeed and must remain hospitalized. They are then fitted with a feeding tube while they acquire this reflex. But to develop sucking more quickly, it is common for doctors to try to stimulate infants using pacifiers. In addition, we also know that the voice of mothers boosts the growth of the baby.
Combine pacifier and mother’s voice
A device, marketed in the United States, combines precisely these two elements. This is the Pacifier Activated Lullaby (PAL). This musical pacifier records the voice of the mother who sings a lullaby. As part of the study, the moms sang “Hush Little Baby”, the English equivalent of “Fais dodo, Colas mon p’tit Brother.” »As soon as the baby sucks it, the recording starts.
Watch a PAL demonstration video:
To test this brand new device, 100 babies hospitalized at Vanderbilt University Children’s Hospital in Nashville (Tennesse, USA) were divided into two groups. One group continued the usual treatment (pacifier, skin to skin with the mother, gradual introduction of breastfeeding). The other group also benefited from PAL during 15-minute sessions over 5 days. Compared to normally treated premature infants, those who breastfed with PAL began to eat faster and passed the feeding tube more quickly. The babies also developed better sucking skills and stayed in the hospital for less.
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