Neural Development, Music Therapy, and Active Noise Control in the NICU—No Preterm Neonate Needs Mozart

There is an increasing body of neonatal research on administering highly complex auditory stimuli (ie, music) to (extremely) preterm-born neonates (23-28 weeks’ gestation). The aim of this Viewpoint is to raise awareness about the potential long-term and short-term harm of auditory stimuli that can be inflicted on neonates and to offer an evidence-based and clinically proven alternative. Using music is not simply using whatever comes to mind as it is seemingly harmless. Music is a complex stimulus, which has the potential to cause neurologic, pulmonary, and cardiac harm in extremely preterm-born neonates when used uninformed and lightly.1,2

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