To help premature babies to eat properly, it would be enough to equip them with musical pacifiers according to the results of a study by Vanderbilt University Children’s Hospital published in the specialized journal Pediatrics.
Previous research has shown that mothers’ voices help calm children because they are very receptive to it. Doctor Nathalie Maitre wanted to understand if this voice could also help premature babies to feed.
“A baby who does not feed cannot leave the hospital”, recalls the director of the study, Doctor Nathalie Maitre.
“The premature infants must learn to coordinate sucking, swallow their saliva and breathe. It is very difficult for toddlers, and it is very tiring, “added Nathalie Maitre.” Conventional pacifiers have been used in intensive care units for about ten years, and it helps babies improve their suction”.
To test her “music theory,” she gave hundreds of babies in the neonatal intensive care unit at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital in Nashville a pacifier with sensors. This bottle produced a simple lullaby when the baby suckled well and with enough force.
Conclusive results
“Mothers’ voices are a great stimulus,” explained Dr. Maitre. “In a day or two, children learn to breastfeed with enough force and in the correct pattern to hear the song their mother sings.”
We have seen that “premature babies who used these pacifiers remained intubated a week less than the other cubs. In addition, babies with nipples fed more, developed better sucking skills, and appeared to less stressed when they were breastfeeding. “
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 15 million babies are born prematurely each year, which is more than one in 10 babies worldwide. One million of them die each year and many more suffer their entire lives from disabilities, whether physical, neurological or learning.
