This completely contradicts the long held belief that premature babies should not be overstimulated with lights and sounds. I believe that kangaroo care with mom talking softly would benefit baby the most and more than that is just too much. When my son was in the NICU, not only were the machines and nurses loud, but they had a radio playing! My son was agitated and kept covering his face. As soon as he was moved to a regular nursery without noise and with natural light, he was a completely different baby. If a baby is premature, that means he or she should still be in mom's tummy. Since they can't be, measures should be taken to mimic the womb as much as possible. That doesn't include multiple unmuffled ( I know that's not a word) adult voices pointedly talking to a preemie in an effort to boost language skills.

Well duh!!! Of course the babies should be talked to! Just because they are preemies does not mean that they are not babies. I believe that one of the rerasons that they get overstimulated is because they need their mother's touch. Their mother is their comfort, the sound of her heartbeat relaxes them. There are studies that show when a mother holds her preemies directly against her bare chest that those babies do better in the NICU.

ALL babies need their mother to interact with them for extended periods of time during the day just as they would if the baby was home with them. I understand that there are times a baby's medical needs might not permit that but everything possible needs to be done to try and get mother & baby together. All too often preemies are little beings that are being kept alive physically without giving enough attention to mental well-being.

I was a preemie in the 70's and back then my mother had to throw a BIG fit in order to be able to hold me. They told her to go home and pretend she had never had a baby because I would die anyway and she could have more. Thankfully, she did not listen. Back then she was ridiculed by the Dr's & nurses for becoming attached to me. Thank goodness that things have changed.

i myself was severely premature. but this was in 1974, when docs were learning about how to treat the situation. thus so, i wasn't properly stimulated according to my mother. she lived far away/had to work as well. at 3 mos. she took me home and we engaged and in someways are still engaging in an uphill battle. i went thru a lot of stuff and am proud that i was a test subject of sorts. now kids get oxygen immediately and are tested and monitored up the wazoo. because of that, these kids are less likely to suffer long. or have brain damage/cerebral palsy like me. that makes me feel good. like what we went thru was worth it.

Our child was born pre-term (26 weeks) in late summer 1987. She was very small (2 lbs 2 ounces) but my goodness she was a fighter. She had wonderful care in the NICU where she lived and grew until the time we brought her home. Her primary care nurse ALWAYS had a radio on, right beside her isolette. She had it tuned to a classical music station and she kept the volume very low. Our daughter started playing the flute in 5th grade - and graduated as a phenomenal flautist from a very prestigious music school in 2010. She's won more awards and special recognition for her talent than I can remember. My husband and I have always thought she got her start with the music she listened to in the NICU. May be a bunch of baloney, but it is our belief. Nurse K. Means at WVU Hospital - we will never forget you!

It's not just a mother's voice... babies should be spoken to by the father too, both before and after birth. Husbands/boyfriends that actively talk to the baby (to the mother's stomach and/or while the newborn is hospitalized and after) are just as soothing and they form a stronger bond with the baby.