A new study, by researchers at Brenner Children’s Hospital, part of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, will look at how music soothes babies who are hospitalized.
Babies in the study will listen to harp music several days a week and be monitored for stress. Researchers will look at a baby’s heart rate, saliva and activity levels in determining how the baby responds to the music. Another control group will be exposed to a quiet room or receive usual care.
“We already have some preliminary research that suggests that infants respond favorably to music in a stressful environment,” said Kathi Kemper, M.D., a pediatrician at Wake Forest University’s School of Medicine and author of The Holistic Pediatrician. “We are interested in learning how sound and music affects stress levels in babies. By doing this study, we hope to learn how we can help babies feel more at ease, gain weight and grow better. Future studies will assess the immediate and long-term impact of different kinds, amounts, frequency and duration of music on a baby’s physiologic, clinical, and behavioral development.”
About 90 babies will participate in the two-year study, which is expected to start in July. The study is funded by the National Institutes of Health National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine.
Wake Forest Baptist is an academic health system comprised of North Carolina Baptist Hospital, Wake Forest University School of Medicine and Brenner Children’s Hospital.
Media Contact: Rae Bush (336) 716-6878, rbush@wfubmc.edu; Shannon Koontz (336) 716-2415, shkoontz@wfubmc.edu; or Karen Richardson (336) 716-4453, krchrdsn@wfubmc.edu.
About Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center: Wake Forest Baptist is an academic health system comprised of North Carolina Baptist Hospital, Wake Forest University School of Medicine and Brenner Children’s Hospital. It is licensed to operate 1,187 acute care, rehabilitation, psychiatry and long-term care beds and is consistently ranked as one of “America’s Best Hospitals” by U.S. News & World Report. Brenner Children’s was named one of the top children’s hospitals in the nation by Child magazine.
Media Relations
Main Number: news@wakehealth.edu, 336-713-4587