Lucja Bieleninik, Ingrid Kvestad, Christian Gold, Andreas Størksen Stordal, Jörg Assmus, Shmuel Arnon, Cochavit Elefant, Mark Ettenberger, Tora Söderström Gaden, Dafna Haar-Shamir, Tonje Håvardstun, Marcela Lichtensztejn, Julie Mangersnes, Anne-Marthe Nygård Wiborg, Bente Johanne Vederhus, Claire M Ghetti
IMPORTANCE: Preterm children are at risk for neurodevelopment impairments. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of a music therapy (MT) intervention (parent-led, infant-directed singing) for premature children during the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) stay and/or after hospital discharge on language development at 24 months' corrected age (CA). DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This predefined secondary analysis followed participants in the LongSTEP (Longitudinal Study of Music Therapy's Effectiveness for Premature Infants and Their Caregivers) randomized clinical trial, which was conducted from August 2018 to April 2022 in 8 NICUs across 5 countries (Argentina, Colombia, Israel, Norway, and Poland) and included clinic follow-up visits and extended interventions after hospital discharge...
May 1, 2024: JAMA Network Open