Sound Origins

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Sound Origins: co-designing a program using sound and song to support parents with seriously unwell babies in the neonatal unit setting

• IRAS ID

  335663

• Contact name

  Glenn Robert

• Contact email

  glenn.robert@kcl.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  Kings College London

• Duration of Study in the UK

  0 years, 6 months, 2 days

• Research summary

  The number of babies with a life-limiting illness is increasing. Parents tell us being given this information about their baby turns their life upside down as they face the reality of their new lives. They are required to find their role as parents within a very medical environment whilst managing their feelings of anxiety and grief. Many parents with babies requiring this level of medical care experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress. This can seriously affect parents’ ability to engage with their baby and opportunities for creating memories can be missed.

  Research shows shared experiences help parents and babies bond. Currently healthcare professionals encourage parents to take part in the care of their baby. This has been shown to be beneficial for bonding but does not always take into account the impact of trauma on parents' ability to participate. Music Therapy is the creation of live music
  to support well-being. It has been shown to be supportive for people experiencing post-traumatic stress. On the neonatal unit this can be as simple as using our voices to share musical elements from parents' communities and childhood such as prayers, rhymes and songs with their baby. It provides time for families to focus on each other and promotes parents’ belief in their parenting ability and cultural identity, increasing engagement with their baby and creating memories to treasure forever

  This study aims to develop a Music Therapy (MT) program to support parents’ interaction with their seriously unwell babies in hospital. The program will be developed with (a) parents with lived experience representing a multi-cultural population and (b) neonatal healthcare professionals. Focus groups will provide deeper understanding of areas of need which the program will be developed to support before being tested.

  This will provide a standardised practice of MT for families on neonatal units across the UK.

• REC name

  North West - Greater Manchester West Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  24/NW/0113

• Date of REC Opinion

  12 Apr 2024

• REC opinion

  Favourable Opinion