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Cry characteristics of 172 healthy 1-to 7-day-old infants
Katarina Michelsson1, Kenneth Eklund, Paavo Leppänen
1Department of Psychology, Niilo Mäki Institute, University of Jyväskylä, Finland. katarina.michelsson@pp.fimnet.fi
Insights
This study analyzed 1,836 infant cries, revealing typical fundamental frequencies around 496 Hz. Cry characteristics showed no significant differences based on infant gender, age, or gestational age.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal research
- Acoustic analysis of infant vocalizations
Background:
- Infant cries are crucial for communication and health assessment.
- Understanding normative cry parameters aids in identifying potential developmental or health issues.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize the acoustic properties of healthy newborn infant cries.
- To establish normative data for cry duration and fundamental frequency.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 1,836 cry signals from 172 healthy infants aged 1-7 days.
- Utilized sound spectrography to measure cry duration and fundamental frequency.
- Statistical analysis of mean values from 8-15 cries per infant.
Main Results:
- Mean cry duration was 1.4 ± 0.6 seconds.
- Mean fundamental frequency was 496 ± 95 Hz, with 93% below 600 Hz.
- Cry melody predominantly featured a rising-falling contour, with minimal variation between highest and lowest frequencies.
Conclusions:
- Established normative acoustic parameters for healthy newborn cries.
- No significant cry variations were found related to infant gender, age, or gestational age.
- Provides a baseline for future research into infant cry analysis and diagnostics.
Abstract:
A total of 1,836 cry signals from 172 healthy babies, 1-7 days old, were analysed with sound spectrography. The mean values for the 8-15 cries from each infant were calculated and used for the statistical analyses. The mean duration of the cry signals was 1.4 +/- 0.6 s. The mean fundamental frequency was 496 +/- 95 cps (Hz). Fifty percent of the mean fundamental frequencies in the 8-15 cries analysed from each baby varied between 450 and 520 Hz. Of the children, 93% had cries with a mean fundamental frequency below 600 Hz. The mean value of the highest point of the fundamental frequency was 583 +/- 151 Hz and of the lowest point 398 +/- 75 Hz. The melody type had mainly a rising-falling contour, though the difference between the highest and the lowest point was often rather small. There were no significant differences noted in the cry characteristics according to gender, the age of the infants or the gestational age when they were born.