You want to find out how you can use your voice as a source of nurturing, comfort and stimulation for newborns in hospitals? Do you know how powerful your voice as a caregiver and/or health professional can be to work with newborn babies who are 26th week gestation onwards? And how much we already know about what to do with it?

Then watch this video by the experienced NICU music therapist Dr. Helen Shoemark, Assoc. Prof of Music Therapy at Temple University, Philadelphia. Helen has developed support programs for parents with preterm children such as «Time Together». And she is a member of amiamusica’s advisory board. Here, she briefly summarizes what babies love!

  • One of the earliest experiences that babies can make use of is sound and familiar voices. Within a few days, babies quickly learn to recognize voices and auditory information.

  • Use your voice in a way that makes it apparent who you are. For example, use the same gradient each time or a little verbal gesture. You do not necessarily have to sing – you can use your voice purposefully.

  • Babies love patterns. Use easy songs with repetitive patterns such as «Twinkle, twinkle little star». Or chat with the babies using a special pattern. Babies will respond to that.

  • If you are a health professional, use similar patterns as the parents so the babies get the same message from all of you.

  • You can also use nursery rhymes or rhymes of any kind. Babies recognize the pattern and quickly learn that you want to interact and play with them.

  • Using «ups and downs» in our voices (intonation) can help to soothe the babies. They recognize that you are paying attention. You are letting them know that you hear them and you are responding to them. The intonation of «down» is a universal soothing pattern. And the intonation pattern of «up» is an invitation to get attention.

  • Use songs of any kind. Songs from the parents, from your own childhood or songs that you like. There are two kinds of songs: play songs with up-tempo (for instance «Old McDonald had a farm») or lullabies (such as «Twinkle, twinkle little star»).

Watch Helen’s full tutorial, which explains how you can use the power of your voice purposefully for nurturing, comforting and stimulating newborn babies in the hospital setting.