Presentation Information

Early Vocal Contact Between Parents and Preterm Infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

• Speaker: Manuela Filippa , PhD
• Presentation Type:
• Duration: 60 Mins
• Credits: 1 CERP, 1 Nursing CEU, 1 CME

Abstract:

Early Vocal Contact aims to enhance closeness between preterm infants and their caregivers, principally through the medium of the voice. The specific aims of this presentation are;

(1) to give evidence the special orientation that newborns have towards the maternal voice;
(2) to explore the literature on the effects of the maternal voice on preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit;
(3) to identify and to describe the mechanisms through which early vocal contact acts as an early, family-based intervention for preterm infants and;
(4) to suggest some final recommendations for clinical practice.

Encouraging live vocal contact, with preterm infants, far from being only a sensory/acoustical stimulation, can activate a number of related and consequential actions (intuitive parenting, multimodal co-regulation, reciprocal synchronisation). These normal actions in full-term birth are at the foundation of bonding and attachment processes and can lead to long-term and sustained positive effects on the development of preterm infants.