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Navigating music therapy relationships in the neonatal intensive care unit
Thesis   Open access

Navigating music therapy relationships in the neonatal intensive care unit

John W. Laventure
Master of Arts (M.A.), Drexel University
Mar 2020
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00000074
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Laventure_John_CAT_2020388.86 kBDownloadView

Abstract

Music therapy Neonatal intensive care Premature infants
This capstone project is focused on preterm infants who have been admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The author conceptualized the best approach to building relationships in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit - Music Therapy (NICU-MT) between the therapist-neonate, therapist-caregiver(s), and therapist-NICU personnel. Neonates are fragile and require critical care. Preterm infants born before 32 to 34 weeks' gestation may face challenges feeding and require the use of gavage feeding, oral-gastric or nasogastric tube. Literature shows that music therapy is effective in aiding preterm infants in neurological development thus allowing them to survive independently. However, the infant's survivability outcome is higher the longer that the fetus is able to develop in-utero. Each trimester consists of developmental milestones necessary for the infant's survival. When an infant is born prematurely, some of these milestones may not be achieved and can have long-term effects on the infant and family/caregivers. Within NICU-MT, there are a number of evidence-based interventions that have proven effective with the challenges related to prematurity. NICU-MT helps facilitate development in neonates and in promoting an atmosphere conducive to building relationships, between all parties within the NICU setting - NICU staff, parents/caregivers, and neonates. In this project, the author describes experiences in the context of a music therapy internship. Keywords: Music therapy, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, relationships, Staff, Parents

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