Playing Mozart’s Lullaby to babies may reduce the pain they feel when undergoing a heel prick blood test, study suggests

• Test helps screen for rare but serious health conditions such as cystic fibrosis

His catalogue of classical music has helped millions across the globe switch off and relax.

But Mozart can also help newborns feel less pain when undergoing a heel prick blood test, a study suggests.

The test helps screen for rare but serious health conditions such as cystic fibrosis and sickle cell disease.

The procedure may hurt babies a little, with parents encouraged to cuddle and feed them to ease distress.

Now, experts say Mozart’s Lullaby can help alleviate pain – and it is an easy and inexpensive tool that could be used during minor procedures in newborns.

(Stock Photo) The average pain score of babies who listened to the lullaby was significantly lower during and immediately after the heel prick, compared to those who did not listen to music

The team, from Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Centre in New York, measured the pain levels of 100 babies who had the test.

On average, the babies were two days old and born at 39 weeks.

As part of standard care, all babies were given 0.5 millilitres of sugar solution two minutes before the heel prick was performed.

An investigator wearing noise-cancelling headphones assessed the babies’ pain levels before, during, and after the heel prick.

The pain levels were determined according to the infants’ facial expressions, degree of crying, breathing patterns, limb movements, and levels of alertness.

In the study, 54 of the 100 babies had listened to Mozart’s Lullaby for 20 minutes prior to and during the heel prick and for five minutes afterwards, while the others did not.

The procedure was consistently performed in a quiet, dimly lit room at an ambient temperature and the babies were not provided with dummies or physical comfort.

(Stock Photo) The heel prick blood test helps screen for rare but serious health conditions such as cystic fibrosis and sickle cell disease

According to the findings, similar pain levels were observed in both groups of children before the heel prick, with pain scores for both groups at zero out of a maximum possible score of seven.

However, the average pain score of babies who listened to the lullaby was significantly lower during and immediately after the heel prick, compared to those who did not listen to music.

The pain score for babies who listened to the lullaby was four during the test, zero at one minute after the procedure, and zero at two minutes after the heel prick.

In the group that did not listen to the lullaby, the pain scores were seven, 5.5 and two at the same time points.

There was no difference in average pain scores of infants in both groups three minutes after the procedure, the study published in Paediatric Research found.

According to the scientists, future research could investigate whether recordings of parental voices can also reduce pain in newborns during minor procedures, as well as exploring the influence of physical comfort from caregivers, in addition to music, on pain levels.

The study authors wrote: ‘Recorded music, in addition to sucrose, is efficacious in reducing pain, encouraging its use in term neonates.’ They concluded: ‘Music intervention is an easy, reproducible, and inexpensive tool for pain relief from minor procedures in healthy, term newborns.

‘The study results can be applied to term newborn nurseries with limited resources in the US and potentially worldwide.

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