The effect of music on blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate in premature infants

This investigation compared the effects of two different kinds of music, sedative, and stimulating, on premature infants in isolettes in an intensive care nursery. The physiological responses, consisting of systolic blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate, were observed and measured for increases or decreases outside the resting range of each individual infant.

Ten premature infants between 33 and 35 weeks post conceptual age who were receiving oral feedings were selected as subjects from a Level III Intensive Care Nursery regional referral center. Infants with extensive medical complications were excluded from the study.

Infants were tested in the same isolette and at the same time of day. Infants were pretested for functional hearing, and music levels were presented at 80 decibels. Data was collected during a ten minute resting period prior to a ten minute musical intervention. Music sessions were presented on two consecutive days to prevent overstimulation.

Results were presented in individual figures demonstrating physiological responses and accompanying descriptions. Respiratory rates measured during musical intervention were observed to have the most frequent number of readings outside the resting range. The variable systolic blood pressure measured during musical intervention had the least frequent number of readings outside the resting range. There were no consistent patterns of increase or decrease during either music intervention suggesting that multiple environmental variables may have impacted on the physiological parameters of these infants.

The premature infants studied were observed to be labile in all variables during resting and during both music intervention periods. There was no effect by music observed on lability. Lability was greater during respirations than during observations of heart rate and systolic blood pressure. Respiratory lability was observed 51 times as compared to 11 observations of heart rate lability and five observations of systolic blood pressure lability. Lability was observed in respiratory rate in all ten infants as compared to five infants who had lability observed in heart rate and five infants who had lability observed in systolic blood pressure.