Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Correspondence: joelle. The fetal environment provides the fetus with multiple potential sources of rhythmic stimulation that are not present in the NICU. Maternal breathing, heartbeats, walking, dancing, running, speaking, singing, etc. In contrast, the NICU environment does not offer the same proportion of rhythmic stimulation.
The focus is on the beneficial effects of auditory and vestibular stimulation involving both partners of the motherโinfant dyad. A preliminary study on the influence of a skin-to-skin lullaby on the stability of maternal behavior and on the tonic emotional manifestations of the preterm infant is presented as an example. The review concludes with the importance of introducing rhythmic stimulations in the NICU. Keywords: rhythm, preterm infants, sensorimotor synchronization, intrauterine, rhythmical stimulation, infant-directed singing.
Furthermore, it seems essential for language and communication skills [ 1 ]. Rhythmic synchrony becomes just one piece in a whole that combines emotion, sociality, and rhythm [ 3 ]. In this paper, we highlight the importance of the different rhythms present from the beginning of fetal life and examine the continuity or discontinuity of the various rhythms in the intrauterine environment compared with the incubator in the neonatal intensive care unit NICU.
We illustrate possible solutions to promote sensoryโmotor synchrony in the preterm infant and thus stimulate interactions. For this purpose, we first present an extensive review of early rhythmic experiences and then the results of a pilot study comparing mother and infant behaviors in kangaroo care with and without maternal singing, i. Sensory stimuli are essential for the development of sensory modalities. This explains why some modalities develop earlier than others, depending on the nature and frequency of the stimuli present in the environment.
Sensory stimuli play an important role in the initiation, consolidation, modulation, construction specificity, and functionality of neural connections.
