Music can be played for your baby as early as 28 weeks. Research shows that the greatest benefits of music therapy occur between 28-35 weeks.
Benefits of playing music include:
- Soothing infants
- Increasing oxygen saturation
- Reducing stress
- Increasing language stimulation
Lullabies (like Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and Rock-a-bye Baby) help promote language development.
Other benefits of music may include:
- A decrease in hospital stay
- An increase in the infant’s ability to calm self
- An increase in weight gain
Here are some things to consider during music therapy:
- Music should be kept low.
- Music should be soothing, constant and relatively unchanging.
- Please don’t provide music for over 15 minutes at a time and no more than 1.5 hours per day.
- Your baby’s brain is growing and needs to rest so please protect their sleep and play before or after care or during Kangaroo care.
- Radio stations should not be used.
- Music should be discontinued if your baby shows any signs of distress (finger splay, hiccups, gagging, arching, change in muscle tone, change in color)