Did you know that there are ways of testing babies?

Most parents have heard of the Apgar test which measures color, pulse rate, reflex irritability, muscle tone, and breathing. While the test is named after Dr. Virginia Apgar, her name has been formed into a ‘backronym‘ for Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity and Respiration.

There is another test, too, which is much more comprehensive. The Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS or BNAS) is said by some to measure intelligence. It’s not clear exactly what it measures, though. It measures 27 behaviors and 20 responses, including reflexes, stress responses and motor maturity.

With the NBAS, it is possible to compare reactivity of infants between different groups. In a study by Ravindra Arya,^, Maya Chansoria, Ramesh Konanki and Dileep K. Tiwari, called Maternal Music Exposure during Pregnancy Influences Neonatal Behaviour: An Open-Label Randomized Controlled Trial the NBAS was used to see comparisons between babies exposed to music in utero and those not specifically exposed.

To avoid complications such as music from older siblings, only first time mothers participated in the experiment. The test group was given a music cassette and told to play the cassette for around an hour each day. The control group was given no musical intervention. Both groups were given standard prenatal medical care.

The music was Garbh Sanskar, which is Indian pregnancy wellness music.

Babies of the women who listened to the music during pregnancy performed better on the NBAS, especially in regard to orientation and habituation.

What is different in this study, when compared to most studies having to do with music exposure during pregnancy, is that in this case, the mother listened to the music with headphones on her ear. It is unclear whether the fetus was able to hear the music.

So the next question is whether the fetus and mom be listening to the same music, or maybe music for moms and music for babies are two different things.

]]> http://www.nuvo-group.com/blog/when-mom-listens-to-music-baby-scores-better-on-the-test/feed/ 0 http://www.nuvo-group.com/blog/needles-and-ultrasounds-what-fetal-tests-to-expect/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=needles-and-ultrasounds-what-fetal-tests-to-expect http://www.nuvo-group.com/blog/needles-and-ultrasounds-what-fetal-tests-to-expect/#comments Wed, 15 May 2013 07:00:53 +0000 Leah Goodman http://www.nuvo-group.com/blog/?p=524

Many women who have been healthy all of their lives find pregnancy to be a time when there is just too much medical intervention. Surely, they think, something as natural as pregnancy shouldn’t require seven ultrasounds, twenty blood tests, and twelve pills each day. After all, women have been having babies for centuries.

Before deciding which tests to do or not do, it’s best to understand what each fetal test looks for and what decisions can be made based on those tests.

The following is a list of the most common tests performed to verify fetal health:

1. Nuchal scan – this test is an ultrasound performed in weeks 11-14, and measures the thickness of the soft tissue at the nape of the neck of the fetus. This test screens for chromosomal defects like Down Syndrome, Turner Syndrome, Trisomy 18 (Edward’s Syndrome), Trisomy 14, and Triploidy.
2. Ultrasound – Ultrasounds, also called sonograms, are performed at various times during the pregnancy for a number of reasons, including to measuring growth and organ shape and size, verification of number of embryos or fetuses, and examination of the placement of fetus and placenta.
3. Alphafetoprotein (AFP or triple) screening: This test is performed during weeks 14-22, and is most accurate at weeks 16-18. AFP screening looks for trisomies such as Down Syndrome or Edward’s Syndrome, as well as neural tube defects like spina bifida or anencephaly. It is a regular blood test performed on the mother.
4. Amniocentesis – This test is performed in weeks 15-20, and can screen for neural tube defects, genetic defects, lung maturity levels, infections, and a number of other fetal issues. This test is a medical procedure which involves removing a small amount of amniotic fluid from the mother’s uterus, by inserting a needle through the abdominal wall.

In our last post, we discussed fetal testing. In this post, we’ll introduce tests which verify the health of the pregnancy and the mother. These tests pose no threat to the fetus, and are not generally used to diagnose issues with the fetus:

1. hCG . also called “beta” – this can be qualitative (yes or no) or quantitative (number).  Qualitative simply tells whether there is a pregnancy or not. Quantitative hCG tests are sometimes used to see how the pregnancy is progressing. The number is meant to double within a certain number of hours, and low hCG can be an indicator of a problem pregnancy early on. This test is generally not used once a sac is visible on ultrasound. It is a regular blood test performed on the mother.
2. Glucose Screening – This is generally done between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy. If the mother has other risk factors for diabetes, such as obesity or history of gestational diabetes, the doctor may wish to test earlier in the pregnancy. There are two versions of this test. In both versions, the mother drinks a sweet drink with a pre-determined amount of glucose, and her blood is tested after a time period. In the case of the regular glucose tolerance test, blood is tested after one hour. In the case of the three hour glucose tolerance test, blood is tested after one hour, two hours, and three hours.
3. Other blood tests – Most obstetricians test the mother’s overall health at least once or twice during the pregnancy. One thing they look for is hemoglobin and hematocrit rates which could indicate anemia. Even pregnant women who take daily iron supplements often suffer anemia in pregnancy, and it is a condition which can hurt both mother and fetus.
4. Urine tests – Urine tests are good for determining sugar trace in the blood, which can be an indication of gestational diabetes. They are also used to examine levels of protein in the blood, which can be a marker for pre-eclampsia.

In our last post, we discussed why you don’t necessarily need any specific baby classes to be a great parent and be sure your little one is getting everything a growing baby needs. On the other hand, there are a number of reasons why these classes are great.

1. They help establish routines. If you’re going to be home with baby for several months, regular classes help make sure that you get fully dressed and outside in the daytime.
2. Socialization. For you, not the baby. Often, immediately after a baby is born, it’s hard to relate to non-parents. Even if you do maintain great relationships with friends who aren’t parents, there’s a good chance that you’ll want to talk diapers and sleep routines with someone who is also going through it.
3. They remind and reinforce. It’s easier to remember to do baby exercises if you went to class yesterday or are going again tomorrow.
4. They have equipment you might not. Some babies are enthralled by a tambourine, others by a rainstick, and still others by a xylophone. It seems like a shame to buy all of the possible instruments when you can easily try them out at a baby class.
5. Learning. It’s easy to learn the basic techniques from a website or a video, but in a class, there’s someone who can tell you what you’re doing well and what you could be doing better.

Every mom wants to do the absolute best she can for her baby. There are a plethora of baby classes for new mothers. Baby massage, baby exercise and baby music classes are the most common. While they are fun and a great way for moms to network, your baby can enjoy the same activities without an organized class.

Baby massage isn’t complicated, and doesn’t require a three month course.  This guide from Babyzone is a great way to learn how to give a baby massage. It’s easy to give a short baby massage each evening, as seen in this video:

Baby exercise classes are, likewise, not necessary for giving babies the right physical activity. If development is on target, then the only absolute necessity is ‘tummy time,’ meaning that the baby needs to be placed face down to practice raising the head and shoulders. The Mayo Clinic site recommends laying newborns across an adult’s lap for tummy time, and allowing the baby to move around face down for a short period of time. Turn the baby over if he or she gets fussy, and try again later. By three months, parents should be aiming for at least twenty minutes of tummy time. If the baby starts fussing immediately, tummy time can be divided into several short sessions over the course of the day. If the baby’s development is in any way irregular, it’s best to get help from a physical therapist to determine which exercises the baby needs.

Since most parents spend a lot of time holding their babies anyway, there are a number of exercises that can help strengthen and stretch even the youngest babies. This illustrated guide demonstrates exercises for babies as young as one month old. Notice that the exercises help stretch the baby’s muscles and make the baby more kinesthetically aware, rather than an early attempt at training the baby to be a weight-lifter.

In previous posts, we’ve given some attention to getting babies actively involved in music, so it’s clear that this, too, doesn’t require a special class.

In our next post, we’ll discuss why we think new parents might still get a lot of benefits from baby classes, even if they can learn the skills without paying for a class.

Often, expectant parents wonder if their baby can hear music played through the walls of the mother’s abdomen and how the experience affects the baby. Research shows that not only babies hear the music, but they remember it long after birth. Researchers at University of Leicester published this study showing that with repeated exposure to a particular piece before birth, babies recognize music over a year later.

The study was small, but meaningful. Of the eleven babies whose mothers had intentionally played a particular musical piece during gestation, all eleven showed recognition for the song after a year. In a similar group of eleven babies who had not been exposed to music in-utero, the same songs produced no recognition.

Interestingly, the mothers were allowed to choose the music for their own baby, which included opera, Mozart, Vivaldi, Spirits of Nature, Five, UB40, and Ken Boothe. Recognition was similar for all types of music. Researchers did not look for differences in development, so this study cannot lend insight as to which types of music could be best for a developing fetus. The memory of music does not seem to be tied to socio-economic status or IQ of the parents.

According to Dr. Alexandra Lamont, “We know that the foetus in the womb is able to hear fully only twenty weeks after conception. Now we have discovered that babies can remember and prefer music that the heard before they were born over twelve months later.”

While the study has a number of implications, one of the most obvious is that parents who wish to use music to calm their babies are likely to have good results if they use the same music repeatedly and if the exposure to the specific music begins in utero.

Given a selection of happy and sad songs, even a five-month-old can tell the difference. According to a study from Brigham Young University, babies were played songs in random order, and when there was a switch in emotion in music, the babies displayed more interest.

What is Happy Music?

Happy music is in major keys, has short phrases or motives that repeat, and generally have faster rhythms than sad selections. The melodies move in an upward direction. An example is “Ode to Joy.”

What is Sad Music?

Sad music is generally, although not always, in a minor key. Sad music has a long and melodic rhythm, and slower beat. An example of a sad song is Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

What Do These Results Mean?

Researchers are looking into this early understanding to discover whether the knowledge is innate or learned early on in order to understand how babies develop emotional awareness.

What Can Parents Do at Home?

First, identify which songs make you happy or sad. Be aware of them. Play a selection of both for baby, in order to give your baby a more varied musical environment. Listening to the same song on a regular basis is good for creating a sense of comfort and familiarity. On the other hand, babies tend to pay more attention to music when there is variation in the emotion of music.

Pay attention to the baby’s response to different styles of music. Some sad music may make babies sad, while other slower songs make babies calm. Happy music may encourage babies to dance by bobbing their heads or moving their arms, which is great exercise for an infant.

What is most important is to make sure that babies get a chance to use their skills in differentiating different types of music by making sure they hear both happy and sad music.

]]> http://www.nuvo-group.com/blog/babies-notice-differences-in-emotion-in-music/feed/ 0 http://www.nuvo-group.com/blog/turn-music-interactive-for-babies-and-toddlers/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=turn-music-interactive-for-babies-and-toddlers http://www.nuvo-group.com/blog/turn-music-interactive-for-babies-and-toddlers/#comments Mon, 22 Apr 2013 13:58:59 +0000 Leah Goodman http://www.nuvo-group.com/blog/?p=482

For preemies, just listening to music can be a useful experience. For older babies and toddlers, though, there’s so much more to the experience. It’s important to make the music interactive as early as possible. Even small children can learn to drum. When a baby can grasp a rattle, he or she is big enough to play it and listen to music. When baby can sit up, he or she can begin learning to play a xylophone, electronic keyboard, or piano to learn how scales work. You don’t need expensive equipment. A simple toy xylophone is a great way to introduce scales, and it’s easy to make maracas with a plastic bottle and some rice.

Dance is great exercise for children (and adults too!). Babies don’t need to be able stand to dance. They can move their arms and legs while lying down or sitting up.

For children who can sing along, music is a great way to learn basic concepts. It’s the way most of us learned the alphabet, but there are songs to teach everything from spelling to math. Parents should expose their children to the whole range of music. Songs like “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” can be sung with hand movements which encourage fine motor coordination. Lullabies can help children calm down both before sleep and in stressful situations. Some mothers sing lullabies to children undergoing blood tests or other painful medical procedures.

According to MusikGarten, music brings people together. Children who play music with others learn to deal with others through music. Music can help deal with emotionally difficult situations.

For more information about the advantages of music, we recommend this great video from About.com.

Our last post gave a quick overview of the research paper written by Jacquelyn Michele Coleman, Rosalie Rebollo Pratt, Ronald A. Stoddard, Dale R. Gerstmann, and Hans-Henning Abel. You can read the full article in the International Journal of Arts Medicine. Fortunately, a quick and easy summary, without the full statistical analysis is available on this site, which has a lot of information on premature babies in general.

In addition to the article referenced above, the site refers to a number of other studies with similar findings. One of the exciting thing in the Coleman article, which sets it apart from other similar studies, is the fact that the babies were exposed to both male and female voices, with good results from both.

Looking at the research, it seems like preemies benefit from hearing singing from both parents.

The subjects had the lowest heart rate when listening to women singing, but male talking seemed to calm the babies more than female speech. On the other hand, oxygen saturation was higher for babies listening to male singing.  Since weight gain can only be measured for the time frame involved, and all babies in the experimental group heard both male and female singing voices, this study does not suggest whether male or female voices improve weight gain.

What all this suggests is fairly simple; it’s a good idea to mix up your baby’s lullabies. If the baby only has one parent who’s willing to sing, be sure to pick up some lullabies sung by someone of the opposite gender.

For now, let me leave you with a very calming song for you and your little baby:

One of the biggest challenges that can face a new parent is dealing with a baby who is born prematurely. Full-term babies are delicate, and their younger, smaller counterparts are even more fragile.

Jackie Coleman, a musician, plays violin for patients with medical problems at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, and the results are excellent. Through a program founded by Professor Rosalie R. Pratt, Coleman plays violin for patients with a variety of difficulties, including those undergoing physical rehabilitation. Pratt says music helped her fight scleroderma, a debilitating autoimmune disease; she was told she had only six months to live, nearly 30 years ago.

According to Pratt, “When we’re in a state of relaxation, and our brains are calm, we’re not stressed out, our body has a chance to recuperate.”

Working in Pratt’s program has given Coleman the chance to see first-hand the healing power of music, leading to questions about what can be done to help premature neonates. Coleman consulted doctors in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU), and was able to do research on 66 infants.  The results indicate that just 60 minutes of lullabies each day can increase calorie intake and weight, increase oxygen saturation, and result in these babies being released from the hospital earlier than control subjects.

The researchers also looked to see if there was any difference in response between male or female voices, and found both to be effective, although there were slight differences between the two.

This video shows a news segment on the subject, which includes a brief summary of the results of the study.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be examining the amazing research and what it could mean for parents of premature babies, as well as what it could mean for babies born at full-term.