Melody assistant triplets7/6/2023 Early results from the research, which Bollard hopes to publish soon, suggest that 70 percent of participants increased their proficiency using a pacifier while the PAL was used. Bollard’s research is intended to determine whether use of the device improves babies’ abilities to feed on their own and gain weight naturally, thereby shortening the time they have to spend in the NICU. The PAL encourages preemies to strengthen their oral feeding by playing soft music that’s appropriate for the baby’s developmental stage - typically, below 60 decibels, with a repetitive cadence, and lacking unpredictable, jarring noises - when the baby sucks on the pacifier connected to the device. The donor-funded program uses music-based interventions - such as lessons with instruments, therapeutic songwriting and sing-along sessions and relaxation during certain medical procedures - to address patients’ social, emotional and psychological needs and support their medical care. “Allowing parents to use their voice and the special song that they created on this medical device allows them to aid their baby in these very clinical-focused goals,” said Bollard, manager of expressive arts therapies at UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital, who began the hospital’s music therapy program in 2016 through a gift from the Peterson Family Foundation. Its secret ingredient: the music it plays - a personal lullaby that parents write, sing and record for their baby with the help of UCLA’s music therapists. The device is a white, rectangular object about the size of a shoebox with an electronic screen and a pacifier connected via a short cord. It’s for this reason that music therapist Jenna Bollard sought to study whether a pacifier-activated lullaby device, or PAL, might help. They typically haven’t developed the reflex to suck, breathe and swallow, which inhibits their ability to gain weight. Premature infants in the NICU - especially those born before 34 weeks - struggle with oral feeding. For 52 days, the trio were cared for in the neonatal intensive care unit, or NICU, at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital.Īs the UCLA team of nurses, physicians and staff monitored the triplets, the delicate newborns were met by another care team: a group of music therapists using an auditory device aimed at helping preemies develop, feed and grow. The triplets have come a long way since July, when they were born early, at 31 weeks, with weights ranging from 2.5 to 4 pounds. It’s a daily moment that Gallus and Martynus say doesn’t get old. Six-month-olds Ada, Kian and Nico are just waking up, kicking with excitement and beaming from ear to ear. ![]() It’s a Friday morning in January when Jana Gallus, 32, and Gregor Martynus, 35, peek their heads over their triplets’ set of bassinets in their Westwood apartment. Source: University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences Triplets Born Early Use Lullaby-Playing Pacifier As Part Of A Study Aimed To Help Premature Babies Develop, Feed
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