Mozart Can Act as a Painkiller For Newborns

If you are a parent and a fan of classical music here are some exciting news.

Music effects on both the emotions and the body significantly. Faster music can make people feel more alert and helps in better concentration. Upbeat music helps people feel more optimistic and positive. A slower music can relaxation of mind and body muscles, releasing the stress. Music has been an effective tool for relaxation and stress management for quite a long time.

According to a recent study, playing calming tunes, like a Mozart lullaby, can reduce pain and stress among babies when they undergo vaccinations procedures. This study is published in the Pediatric Research journal. Let's find what's it all about.

Heel pricks:

Heel pricks and booster shots are routine procedures for newborns, which they receive soon after birth. Some traditional methods to reduce pain are skin-to-skin contact between a parent and an infant, giving sugar solution, and breastfeeding.

"The heel prick produces a few drops of blood for tests, including to check for certain disorders. Generally, for minor procedures like a heel prick, doctors and nurses turn to pain-reducing methods that don’t involve medication," mentioned Saminathan Anbalagan, a neonatologist at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center in the Bronx, N.Y. The researcher mentioned that they wanted to examine music as another cost-effective substitute.

Why easing the pain among babies is crucial?

If repeated pain-inducing procedures are conducted without pain-relief treatment, then  several prolonged neurological consequences may arise among infants. It may lead to an increased perception of pain. Thus, easing the pain in newborns is crucial for future neurological development and pain perception.

Findings from the new study:

At a hospital nursery, newborns receive a sugar solution to reduce pain before a heel prick. Simultaneously, a group of babies received heel prick while listening to classical lullaby playing from speakers. The researchers found out, pain sensation among second group was much lesser than first group.

"Since they gave sucrose, it’s hard to say yes, music by itself would help," said Mallory Perry-Eaddy, a pediatric intensive care unit nurse and a nurse scientist at the University of Connecticut in Storrs. But combining music with other pain-relieving methods "could be really useful."

For a long period, scientists never believed that babies can experience pain. However, continous research brought them into conclusion that newborns do sense pain. And in some cases, it was noticed that babies are more sensitive than adults to painful stimuli.

"It’s very important that we do try to stay on top of [pain] prior to procedures," said Perry-Eaddy, rather than just trying to alleviate pain afterwards.

The experiment:

The song selected was "Deep Sleep" from Bedtime Mozart. The Classical Lullabies for newborns were played 20 minutes before the heel prick and continued for another five minutes after the procedure. The researchers assessed pain by facial expressions, crying tendency, breathing patterns and other signs.

In a previous experiment, researchers at Stanford University have said that "listening to music seems to be able to change brain functioning to the same extent as medication."

About Mozart:

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is regarded as one of greatest music composers in the world. He penned over 800 songs before his untimely death at the age of 35 in 1791.

The research team mentioned that "future research could explore whether recordings of parental voices might similarly reduce pain in newborns during minor procedures."