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Updated: Sep 30, 2026

Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
19:15

Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale

Published on: August 25, 2014

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

Folia Phoniatrica Et Logopaedica : Official Organ of the International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics (IALP)
|August 10, 2002
PubMed

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.

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