The effect of soothing music on neonatal behavioral states in the hospital newborn nursery.

Most newborns born in Western countries spend their first transitional hours in hospital nurseries. Noxious noise levels in the nursery can interfere with neonatal efforts to achieve physiological and behavioral homeostasis. Literature indicates that music has been used to induce relaxation states and reduce stress responses. This study used a one-group, pretest, posttest design. A convenience sample of 20 term, Caucasian neonates was recruited. The number of high arousal behavioral states and the number of state changes of the newborns was recorded for a control and an experimental period. Soothing, lyrical music was played in the baby's bed during the experimental period. The data was compared using McNemar's test statistic. A significant difference (p < .01) was observed. The results suggest that soothing music may be a feasible intervention to help newborns demonstrate fewer high arousal states and less state lability.