476 - Maternal Recorded Voice Played in the Incubator of Preterm Infants to reduce Maternal Depression, Anxiety and Stress: A Pilot Randomized Control Trial.

Poster Number: 476
Publication Number: 476.1325

Background: Mothers of preterm infants are at an increased risk of depression, anxiety and stress. Recorded maternal voice has been shown to have favorable physiologic effects on the preterm infants. However, its effects on maternal mental health and well-being were not studied. As preterm infants spend extended periods of time in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), it is often not possible for the parents to be with their infants. It might be comforting to the mother if her recorded voice is played to the infant, when she is not with her infant. We hypothesized that playing mother's recorded voice into the infant's incubator will help reduce the mother's stress and anxiety and improve her mood.

Objective: To study the effects of playing mother's recorded voice to preterm infants in the NICU on mother's mental health as measured by the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale –21 (DASS-21) questionnaire.

Design/Methods: This was a pilot single center prospective randomized controlled trial done at a level IV NICU. Inclusion criteria were mothers of preterm infants with gestational ages between 26wks and 30 weeks. DASS-21 questionnaire was administered to all the enrolled mothers in the first week after birth followed by recording of their voice by the music therapists. In the interventional group, recorded maternal voice was played into the infant incubator between 15 and 21 days of life. A second DASS-21 was administered between 21 and 23 days of life. Two sample t- test was used to compare parametric continuous variables and paired t-test to compare the pre- and post-intervention DASS-21 scores.

Results: Forty eligible mothers were randomized: 20 to the intervention group and 20 to the control group. The baseline maternal and neonatal characteristics were similar between the two groups (Table 1). There was no significant difference in the DASS-21 scores between the two groups at baseline or after the study intervention. There was no difference in the pre- and post-interventional DASS-21 scores or its individual components in the experimental group. There was a significant decrease in the total DASS-21 score, and the anxiety component of DASS-21 between weeks 1 and 4 in the control group. (Table 2).

Conclusion(s): In this pilot randomized control study, recorded maternal voice played into a preterm infant's incubator did not have any effects on maternal mental health as measured by the DASS-21 questionnaire. The decline in maternal anxiety in the control group needs to be further explored as the process of maternal voice recording itself could have played a role. Future RCTs with adequate power are needed.