To assess whether a musical intervention (maternal/paternal singing) during the skin-to-skin sessions (Kangaroo care) would improve the language development of the preterm infant. Infants will be randomized to singing or silence during the Kangaroo care from the age corresponding to 30th gestational week until term age (40 gestational weeks).
The outcomes are: a 2- (3-)year neurodevelopmental follow up \- Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition (in Finnish in Finland and in Swedish in Sweden) At the age corresponding to term (40 gestational weeks) * Auditory event related potentials (AERPs) in electroencephalography (EEG), in Helsinki cohort * Auditory event related magnetic fields in magnetoencephalgraphy (MEG) in Karolinska cohort * Parental stress with The State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
140
Infant-directed singing and singing of self-invented songs, especially songs emerging from the interaction with the infant, are especially encouraged. The families will receive audio material of children's songs, lullabies, and lyrics of the lullabies to support them if they feel unable to accomplish the task otherwise.
Auditory cortical responses
Auditory Event-Related Potentials (AERPs) at full-term age will be recorded with multi-feature paradigm (MFP), in which the mismatch negativity (MMN) to 5 speech-related auditory features can be recorded in a short time period.
Time frame: Age corresponding to term, ie 40 gestational weeks
Parental anxiety
Parents' state anxiety is measured using the STAI (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Spielberger, 1983) with 20 self-descriptive statements once per week until the infant leaves the hospital and once in two weeks until the infant reaches the corrected age of 3 months,
Time frame: 3 months age
Neurocognitive development, language development
"Bayley III" :- Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Develoment, Third Edition (in Finnish in Finland and in Swedish in Sweden) \- The following scales will be used: Cognitive, Language, Motor, Language scale includes Expressive Language and Receptive Language Motor scale includes Fine Motorics and Gross Motorics All scale ranges will be included (i.e., minimum and maximum scores) required to interpret any values. For example, if the \*total\* score is reported, the \*total\* range should be provided. If \*subscale\* scores are reported, the range for each \*subscale\* should be provided.
Time frame: 2 year of age
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