Missouri researchers to see if music boosts development for premature babies
Angel Campbell was six months pregnant when she developed a rare, life-threatening health condition.
Shortly after she arrived at MU Health Care in Columbia, Missouri, Campbell’s doctors diagnosed her with a serious pregnancy complication known as HELLP syndrome, which causes high blood pressure, liver failure and stroke.
Her daughter, Ayla, was born by emergency cesarean section in March 2021, three months early. Doctors rushed her to the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit. “She was a little over a pound, like a little Barbie doll,” Campbell said. “You could hold her in the palm of your hand.”
As part of her treatment in the NICU, Ayla received regular music therapy. The technique, which involves humming, lullabies and gentle touch, can reduce stress in premature infants and help them recover from medical procedures. University of Missouri researchers are now studying whether music therapy also affects their long-term brain development.
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/health-science-environment/2022-02-18/missouri-researchers-to-see-if-music-boosts-development-for-premature-babies