(May 28, 2009 - Insidermedicine) Playing music may help babies tolerate painful procedures, calm them down, and encourage them to feed, according to a review published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.

Some hospital neonatal units play music and have reported:

•    Calmer infants and parents

•    Faster weight gain for babies

•    An overall shorter hospital stay

Researchers from the University of Alberta reviewed the literature for studies that evaluated the medical benefits of playing music for term and preterm infants. They included 9 randomized trials in their analysis.

Most of the studies were of poor quality. However, they did provide some evidence that music can help babies tolerate circumcision and heel pricks, which are commonly used to draw blood from babies. In addition, a pacifier rigged to play a lullaby when sucked helped infants feed better, and playing music for preterm infants appeared to improve behavior.

We had a chance to speak with Dr. Manoj Kumar, the principal investigator of this study, who offered some further insight.

Today's research suggests that the evidence for the beneficial medical effects of music is compelling enough to merit closer study.

For Insidermedicine in Depth, I'm Dr. Susan Sharma.