Empowering parents in singing to hospitalized infants: The role of the music therapist

Abstract

Introduction: While we understand the potential benefits of mothers and fathers singing to their infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), the process is not simple. The challenges can be personal, contextual, and temporal. Singing is not a natural action for everyone. With rapidly increasing individualized music listening technology and decreasing opportunities for active music making in many countries, people have less experience and awareness of their own musicality. This can hinder their capacity to use music as part of nurturing their infant. Additionally, across their time in the NICU, parents can feel concerned about singing in a “public” place. Main aims: This chapter outli..