Lullaby-Playing Pacifier Helps Premature Babies Thrive | UCLA Health Newsroom

Babies who are born premature often struggle with feeding and the reflex to suck, breathe and swallow, which is pivotal for their development. And when parents watch their premature newborns in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), they often feel helpless. Now, researchers with the music therapy program at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital are testing whether an unusual device, which plays a lullaby recorded by the baby’s parents when a baby successfully sucks on the connected pacifier, can empower parents by helping them bond with their babies -- and strengthen the babies by improving their oral abilities, which play a crucial role in the ability to feed. A family with triplets participated in the research and used the pacifier-activated lullaby (PAL) device to aid in their babies’ development. Learn more about the music therapy program at https://ucla.in/2lrCgoz