Can Singing Kangaroo Improve Outcome of Preterm Infants

Singing Kangaroos - Infant Care With Combined Auditory Intervention and Kangaroo Care

To assess whether a musical intervention (maternal/paternal singing) during the skin-to-skin sessions (Kangaroo care) would improve the language development of the preterm infant. Infants will be randomized to singing or silence during the Kangaroo care from the age corresponding to 30th gestational week until term age (40 gestational weeks).

The outcomes are:

a 2- (3-)year neurodevelopmental follow up

- Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition (in Finnish in Finland and in Swedish in Sweden)

At the age corresponding to term (40 gestational weeks)

• Auditory event related potentials (AERPs) in electroencephalography (EEG), in Helsinki cohort
• Auditory event related magnetic fields in magnetoencephalgraphy (MEG) in Karolinska cohort
• Parental stress with The State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)

Inclusion Criteria:

• preterm infants at 30th gestational week capable of being in Kangaroo care

Exclusion Criteria:

• intensive care preventing Kangaroo care