A November 2011 Pediatrics study (published online Oct. 17) found that exposure to parental language in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) was a strong predictor of preterm infant vocalizations at 32 and 36 weeks gestational age. In "Importance of Parent Talk in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit with Preterm Infants on the Development of Infant Vocalizations," researchers sought to determine the optimal sound environment for NICU infants, and to test the hypothesis that infants exposed to more adult language would make more vocalizations. The study involved recording the sound environment of 36 low birth-weight infants (less than 1,250 grams) including adult word counts, infant vocalizations and conversational turns. In general, while the NICU had many sounds, the amount of adult language was minimal. However, the adult word counts per hour and infant vocalizations per hour increased between 32 and 36 weeks of age, with a significant increase in infant vocalizations occurring when a parent was present, especially in the hour surrounding a feeding. These findings highlight the powerful impact that parent visitation and talk have on vocalizations in preterm infants in the NICU, and the need for interventions to ensure such interaction, according to the study authors.
