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Updated: Mar 15, 2026
Clinical Practice Protocol of Creative Music Therapy for Preterm Infants and Their Parents in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Published on: January 7, 2020
Music Therapy for Preterm Infants and Their Parents: A Meta-analysis
Łucja Bieleninik1, Claire Ghetti2, Christian Gold3
1The Grieg Academy Music Therapy Research Centre, Uni Research Health, Bergen, Norway; and.
Insights
Music therapy (MT) significantly improves preterm infants' respiratory rate and reduces maternal anxiety. Further research is needed to explore other outcomes and long-term effects of MT.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal Medicine
- Integrative Medicine
- Psychology
Background:
- Music therapy (MT) is increasingly researched for preterm infants.
- A comprehensive meta-analysis of high-quality studies is needed to evaluate MT's exclusive effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review and meta-analyze the impact of MT on preterm infants and their parents.
- To assess effects during NICU hospitalization and post-discharge.
Main Methods:
- Searched multiple databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase, etc.) for randomized controlled trials.
- Included parallel or crossover trials comparing MT to standard care, placebo, or other therapies.
- Conducted independent data extraction and risk of bias assessment.
Main Results:
- Analyzed 14 studies with 964 infants and 266 parents.
- Found significant large effects of MT on infant respiratory rate (MD, -3.91/min) and maternal anxiety (SMD, -1.82).
- Insufficient evidence for other infant/parent outcomes; considerable heterogeneity noted.
Conclusions:
- MT demonstrates a large, favorable effect on infant respiratory rate and maternal anxiety.
- More rigorous research is required for short-term and long-term infant and parent outcomes.
- The current evidence base is limited by a lack of long-term outcome studies.
Context:
Given the recent expansion of research in the area of music therapy (MT) for preterm infants, there is a need for an up-to-date meta-analysis of rigorously designed studies that focus exclusively on MT.
Objective:
To systematically review and meta-analyze the effect of MT on preterm infants and their parents during NICU hospitalization and after discharge from the hospital.
Data Sources:
PubMed/Medline, PsycINFO, Embase, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, CINAHL, ERIC, Web of Science, RILM.
Study Selection:
Only parallel or crossover randomized controlled trials of MT versus standard care, comparison therapy, or placebo were included.
Data Extraction:
Independent extraction by 2 reviewers, including risk of bias indicators.
Results:
From 1803 relevant records, 16 met inclusion criteria, of which 14 contained appropriate data for meta-analysis involving 964 infant participants and 266 parent participants. Overall, random-effects meta-analyses suggested significant large effects favoring MT for infant respiratory rate (mean difference, -3.91/min, 95% confidence interval, -7.8 to -0.03) and maternal anxiety (standardized mean difference, -1.82, 95% confidence interval, -2.42 to -1.22). There was not enough evidence to confirm or refute any effects of MT on other physiologic and behavioral outcomes or on short-term infant and service-level outcomes. There was considerable heterogeneity between studies for the majority of outcomes.
Limitations:
This review is limited by a lack of studies assessing long-term outcomes.
Conclusions:
There is sufficient evidence to confirm a large, favorable effect of MT on infant respiratory rate and maternal anxiety. More rigorous research on short-term and long-term infant and parent outcomes is required.
