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The Response of the Infant to the Father's Voice in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Lisa R Jasin1, Katherine M Newnam, Jennifer Miller
1Authors Affiliations: NICU, Dayton Children's Hospital, Dayton, Ohio (Drs Jasin and Yohannan); University of Tennessee, Knoxville; College of Nursing, University of Tennessee, Knoxville (Drs Jasin, Newnam, Miller, and Roberson); and Pediatrix Medical Group of Ohio (Dr Yohannan).
Insights
Fathers reading to infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) can improve infant cerebral oxygenation and heart rate stabilization. Encouraging father engagement through voice activities supports early bonding and infant well-being.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal care
- Developmental pediatrics
- Family-centered care
Background:
- Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) admission disrupts family formation and father-infant bonding.
- Fathers express comfort with verbal bonding but fear physical contact with sick newborns.
- Active parental engagement during hospitalization supports infant stabilization and vocalization.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the physiological response of infants to their father's voice during live reading.
- To investigate the impact of father's vocalization on infant well-being in the NICU.
Main Methods:
- Prospective descriptive pilot study involving 27 infant/father dyads in a Level III NICU.
- Infants were monitored for cerebral oxygenation, oxygen saturation, heart rate, and respiratory rate before, during, and after father reading.
- Inclusion criteria: infants in private rooms, supine position, ≥36 weeks postmenstrual age.
Main Results:
- Clinically significant increase in infant cerebral oxygenation detected via near-infrared spectroscopy during father's reading.
- Heart rate stabilization observed in most infants during the father's vocal engagement.
- Positive physiological responses indicate benefits of father's voice.
Conclusions:
- NICU staff should encourage fathers to engage verbally with their infants through speaking or reading.
- Role modeling by nursing staff can promote father-infant verbal engagement.
- Providing books can facilitate father-infant voice exposure, supporting bonding and infant development.
Background:
The formation of the family is interrupted following a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) admission, and fathers report experiencing delayed infant bonding due to unit barriers and separation. Fathers state comfort with early infant bonding through language, fearing physical contact with the sick newborn. During hospitalization, active engagement supports ongoing infant/parent vocalization and infant stabilization.
Purpose:
This prospective descriptive pilot study explored the infant's physiological response to the father's voice during a live reading activity.
Methods:
After Institutional Review Board approval and consent, 27 infant/father dyads were observed pre/post and during a live reading activity. All infants were in private rooms and positioned supine in open cribs, adjusted to 36 weeks or greater postmenstrual age, in a 34-bed Level III NICU in the Midwest. Outcome measures included cerebral oxygenation, oxygen saturation, heart rate (HR), and respiratory rate. Infants were monitored for 30 minutes prior to father reading, 10 minutes during and 30 minutes post reading.
Results:
A clinically significant increase in cerebral oxygenation was noted, based on near-infrared spectroscopy readings in response to the father's voice. Most infants had HR stabilization during the father's active reading time frame.
Implications For Practice And Research:
NICU nurses and staff can encourage a father's engagement through speaking or reading to their infant. Nursing staff can promote verbal engagement between father-infant dyads by role modeling this behavior at the bedside. NICUs can provide books for families to further encourage exposure to father's voices. Further study of premature infants at earlier chronological and adjusted ages is needed.
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