Music Does Soothe the Soul

Purpose:  The purpose of this study is to measure heart rate, respiratory rate and O2 saturations on NICU babies when music is played at 55- 80 decibels to reduce stress in the irritable/fussy infant.  

Methods:   We used a comparative design to look at the heart rate, respiratory rate, and O2 saturations of neonates before and after music. If the neonate was determined to be irritable, which is crying for 5 minutes or more, we used physiological measures before and after music to determine statistical significance for the intervention.  Infants in the NICU will have heart rate respiratory rate and O2 saturations recorded before and after music is placed in their ears via ear buds at 45 decibels using an iPod with lullaby music at 60-80 beats a minute.

Results:   Heart rates (HR) and Respiratory rates (RR) soared up in some neonates as high as 20 points when irritable. Oxygen saturations (O2) decreased when the neonate was irritable.  Statistical significance was found when comparing the before HR, RR, and O2 as infants were determined irritable with the HR, RR, and O2 after music was applied.  

Conclusion:   Lullabies at a rate of 60-90 beats per minute are the music of choice for a neonate, which might be due in part to a normal resting adult heartbeat of the mother. In conclusion, lullabies at 60-90 beats per minute at 55decibals can be used to decrease heart rate and respiratory rate resulting in an increase in oxygen saturation for all neonates that are irritable.