Music Therapy in the NICU

Imagine yourself in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). What might you see or hear? Numerous isolettes, infants fitted with various tubes and wires, beeping monitors, fluorescent lighting, doctors and medical staff talking at varying volumes, lots of movement, babies crying or screaming. As we paint this picture of the space, two words may come to mind: overwhelming and overstimulating. Did you feel it? For parents and families of NICU babies, there are already stressors from pregnancy alone. They may not have thought their infant would end up in critical care. A great mix of emotions can come up during this difficult time and at the end of the day, the goal is for families to leave with their new, healthy, and stable baby. 

This is where music therapy comes in - how can music therapy help benefit these vulnerable babies? For infants who are dysregulated and may have trouble with feeding, sleep, and/or self-regulating, there are many interventions that can be of support. The two-tone gato box, which simulates the heartbeat babies hear in their parent’s womb, can be entrained to suck patterns and support a more consistent bottle feed. The ocean disc helps with respiratory support and can regulate an elevated heart rate in the baby. Tonal vocal holding can be entrained to the infant’s breathing or crying and to bring them to a state of rest or sleep. Music therapy can also work in many ways to provide care for the parents and increase bonding with their baby. A Song Of Kin is a piece of music that is meaningful to the family and can be used as a means for them to regulate and bond with their baby beyond their stay in the NICU. Even for medical staff, (along with families and their babies), Environmental Music Therapy (EMT) can be provided on the general unit to reduce overall volumes in the space and can be regulating for numerous members involved in the baby’s care. 

NICU music therapy is an incredible, evidence and research-based form of therapy. It works to help babies increase attainment of developmental milestones, decrease physiological signs of stress, increase their overall ability to be in a regulated state, and enhance caregiver/infant bonding among other goals. It aids in families being able to have a decreased length of stay while the infant reaches its weight and health thresholds. If you work in a NICU or are a family with an admitted infant, ask or advocate for music therapy if it doesn’t already exist in the space! It’s a supportive practice that is not only highly likely to make a positive impact on your baby’s growth, but is also highly likely to be a meaningful experience for everyone involved. 

Written by Olivia Krent, MT-BC (they/she)