BENGALURU : Last week, we took a quick look at the importance of lullabies, and how they exist the world over. The response we received from readers of this column online was fascinating and many of you shared your own stories of your own or your children’s connection to lullabies. It led us to dig a little deeper into how babies respond and react to music and we came across an interesting piece of research (in the Frontiers Journal of Psychology) showing how music can help babies that are born preterm.
Preterm generally refers to babies born before the 37th week of pregnancy, and the WHO estimates that 15 million babies are born preterm annually. These babies are more likely to have developmental deficits, which include a higher risk for behavioural, cognitive and socio-emotional difficulties, and lower academic achievements.
These difficulties can arise because of the interrupted brain development (due to the early birth) or because of the NICU environment (with high levels of stress, noise, pain, and separation from mother). And while, as I’ve said before, music should never be an alternative or substitute for medical care, it can sometimes help and support treatment that is already being received. The connection between music and social emotional learning in children is well-established but is both fascinating and important to see the relationship between infants and music.
It has been shown earlier that introducing music to babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit has short-term benefits, but with this study, it is seen that musical intervention with preterm babies can show benefits at even 12 and 24 months of age. Listening to familiar music daily supported and enhanced brain development. While there’s still a long way to go to understand this completely, this is a strong case for the inclusion of music from birth.
(The authors run SaPa - the Subramaniam Academy of Performing Arts)