Help Lullabies for Life Support Premature Babies
Donation protected
Around 1 in 12 Australian babies are born premature (before 37 weeks gestation) and are admitted to a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit or Special Care Nursery.
Harp and Nick’s daughter, Maya arrived 10 weeks early on the 15th May 2018, weighing a tiny 1.26kg (2.77lbs).
Harp says, “We were fortunate to know Verena, a registered music therapist, trained in neonatal music therapy. She began working with us from the second week Maya was in hospital.”
Last year, Harp, Nick & I established Lullabies for Life, raising enough funds for a 16-week music therapy pilot program in the Special Care Nursery, St George Hospital, Kogarah, Australia.
Lullabies for Life has offered music therapy sessions twice a week since August 2019, making a real difference to the lives of families with premature and medically fragile babies.
“I found music therapy to be calming and relaxing in a stressful environment. The Lullabies for Life music therapist taught me how to sing to my baby. 'Jack' (pseudonym) loves me singing to him."
Written Parent Feedback
Please watch our video to see the benefits of Lullabies for Life!
PLEASE HELP US KEEP THIS WONDERFUL PROGRAM GOING!
“My baby always seemed to relax whenever the music therapy started, even if he was irritable or crying beforehand. The Lullabies for Life music therapist has been great at involving us in the therapy sessions, which has made us comfortable in singing to him.” Written Parent Feedback
Here's a beautiful lullaby by a first-time mum for her baby boy
Lullabies for Life has delivered more than 150 music therapy sessions, in which parents have sung familiar lullabies, or created personalised lullabies for their babies in different languages, e.g. English, Nepali, Polish, Spanish and Turkish.
Older siblings have sung to their baby brothers and sisters. Hospitalised babies have also fallen asleep to gentle, quiet infant-directed humming and simple nylon-string guitar strumming. Occasionally, if old enough, babies have interacted with either a parent, or the Lullabies for Life music therapist - their eyes open and focused on the source of sound, fingers gently opening and closing, and their vital signs stable.
Our aim is to continue providing music therapy for premature and medically fragile babies and their families in the Special Care Nursery at St George Hospital, and also to expand services to neonatal units in other hospitals in 2020.
* Provide creative opportunities for family interaction and bonding;
* Reduce babies' stress levels & develop their ability to self-regulate;
* Alleviate parent/caregiver stress and anxiety;
* Promote babies' brain function and development;
* Create a calming, sound environment in newborn care units.
DONATE NOW - WE WOULD BE SO GRATEFUL - THANK YOU
Check out our Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/lullabiesforlife/
You can also read 'The Effects of Music Therapy on Vital Signs, Feeding, and Sleep in Premature Infants', about collaborative research between music therapist Dr Joanne Loewy and interdisciplinary colleagues.
https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/early/2013/04/10/peds.2012-1367.full.pdf
SOURCE: Pediatrics, peer-reviewed medical journal published by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Harp and Nick’s daughter, Maya arrived 10 weeks early on the 15th May 2018, weighing a tiny 1.26kg (2.77lbs). Harp says, “We were fortunate to know Verena, a registered music therapist, trained in neonatal music therapy. She began working with us from the second week Maya was in hospital.”
Last year, Harp, Nick & I established Lullabies for Life, raising enough funds for a 16-week music therapy pilot program in the Special Care Nursery, St George Hospital, Kogarah, Australia.
Lullabies for Life has offered music therapy sessions twice a week since August 2019, making a real difference to the lives of families with premature and medically fragile babies.
“I found music therapy to be calming and relaxing in a stressful environment. The Lullabies for Life music therapist taught me how to sing to my baby. 'Jack' (pseudonym) loves me singing to him."
Written Parent Feedback
Please watch our video to see the benefits of Lullabies for Life!
PLEASE HELP US KEEP THIS WONDERFUL PROGRAM GOING!
“My baby always seemed to relax whenever the music therapy started, even if he was irritable or crying beforehand. The Lullabies for Life music therapist has been great at involving us in the therapy sessions, which has made us comfortable in singing to him.” Written Parent Feedback
Here's a beautiful lullaby by a first-time mum for her baby boy
Lullabies for Life has delivered more than 150 music therapy sessions, in which parents have sung familiar lullabies, or created personalised lullabies for their babies in different languages, e.g. English, Nepali, Polish, Spanish and Turkish. Older siblings have sung to their baby brothers and sisters. Hospitalised babies have also fallen asleep to gentle, quiet infant-directed humming and simple nylon-string guitar strumming. Occasionally, if old enough, babies have interacted with either a parent, or the Lullabies for Life music therapist - their eyes open and focused on the source of sound, fingers gently opening and closing, and their vital signs stable.
Our aim is to continue providing music therapy for premature and medically fragile babies and their families in the Special Care Nursery at St George Hospital, and also to expand services to neonatal units in other hospitals in 2020.
WE NEED YOUR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO CONTINUE THIS PROGRAM
“I loved music therapy, it makes me feel relaxed and connected to my baby, especially because we can sing in my own language, thanks to the music therapist!”
Written Parent Feedback
Please help us:“I loved music therapy, it makes me feel relaxed and connected to my baby, especially because we can sing in my own language, thanks to the music therapist!”
Written Parent Feedback
* Provide creative opportunities for family interaction and bonding;
* Reduce babies' stress levels & develop their ability to self-regulate;
* Alleviate parent/caregiver stress and anxiety;
* Promote babies' brain function and development;
* Create a calming, sound environment in newborn care units.
DONATE NOW - WE WOULD BE SO GRATEFUL - THANK YOU
Check out our Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/lullabiesforlife/
You can also read 'The Effects of Music Therapy on Vital Signs, Feeding, and Sleep in Premature Infants', about collaborative research between music therapist Dr Joanne Loewy and interdisciplinary colleagues.
https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/early/2013/04/10/peds.2012-1367.full.pdf
SOURCE: Pediatrics, peer-reviewed medical journal published by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Organizer
Verena Clemencic-Jones
Organizer
Lilyfield, NSW