The Grieg Academy-Department of Music, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
GAMUT, NORCE Norwegian Research Centre, Bergen, Norway.
J Music Ther. 2021 Jun 14;58(2):201-240. doi: 10.1093/jmt/thaa023.
Premature infants and their parents experience significant stress during the perinatal period. Music therapy (MT) may support maternal-infant bonding during this critical period, but studies measuring impact across the infant's first year are lacking. This nonrandomized feasibility study used quantitative and qualitative methods within a critical realist perspective to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and suitability of the treatment arm of the Longitudinal Study of music Therapy's Effectiveness for Premature infants and their caregivers (LongSTEP) (NCT03564184) trial with a Norwegian cohort (N = 3). Families were offered MT emphasizing parent-led infant-directed singing during neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) hospitalization and across 3 months post-discharge. We used inductive thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with parents at discharge from NICU and at 3 months and analyzed quantitative variables descriptively. Findings indicate that: (1) parents of premature infants are willing to participate in MT research where parental voice is a main means of musical interaction; (2) parents are generally willing to engage in MT in NICU and post-discharge phases, finding it particularly interesting to note infant responsiveness and interaction over time; (3) parents seek information about the aims and specific processes involved in MT; (4) the selected self-reports are reasonable to complete; and (5) the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire appears to be a suitable measure of impaired maternal-infant bonding. Parents reported that they were able to transfer resources honed during MT to parent-infant interactions outside MT and recognized parental voice as a central means of building relation with their infants. Results inform the implementation of a subsequent multinational trial that will address an important gap in knowledge.
早产儿及其父母在围产期会经历巨大的压力。音乐治疗（MT）可能在这个关键时期支持母婴结合，但缺乏衡量婴儿第一年影响的研究。这项非随机可行性研究在批判现实主义视角内使用定量和定性方法，评估了挪威队列（N=3）中音乐治疗对早产儿及其照顾者有效性的纵向研究（LongSTEP）（NCT03564184）试验治疗臂的可行性、可接受性和适宜性。研究为家庭提供了强调父母主导的婴儿导向唱歌的 MT，在新生儿重症监护病房（NICU）住院期间和出院后 3 个月内提供。我们使用了对父母在 NICU 出院时和 3 个月时的半结构化访谈的归纳主题分析，并对定量变量进行了描述性分析。研究结果表明：（1）早产儿的父母愿意参与强调父母声音是主要音乐互动方式的 MT 研究；（2）父母普遍愿意在 NICU 和出院后阶段参与 MT，发现随着时间的推移注意到婴儿的反应和互动特别有趣；（3）父母寻求有关 MT 目的和具体过程的信息；（4）所选的自我报告是合理的；（5）产后联系问卷似乎是衡量母婴联系受损的合适措施。父母报告说，他们能够将在 MT 中磨练的资源转移到 MT 之外的父母与婴儿的互动中，并认识到父母的声音是与婴儿建立关系的核心手段。研究结果为随后的跨国试验的实施提供了信息，该试验将解决知识中的一个重要差距。
