Effect of Maternal Voice on Physiological Indicators and Feeding Performance

NCT ID: NCT07068581

Last Updated: 2025-12-18

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

50 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2025-08-10

Study Completion Date

2026-07-23

Brief Summary

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This study aimed to determine the effect of maternal voice on physiological indicators and oral feeding performance in preterm infants.

Hypothesis 1 (H1): Preterm infants who listen to their mother's voice throughout the full oral feeding process have higher oxygen saturation levels than those who do not.

Hypothesis 2 (H2): Preterm infants who listen to their mother's voice throughout the full oral feeding process have lower heart rates than those who do not.

Hypothesis 3 (H3): Preterm infants exposed to maternal voice throughout the full oral feeding process have lower respiratory rates than those who are not exposed.

Hypothesis 4 (H4): Preterm infants exposed to maternal voice throughout the full oral feeding process have better feeding maturation than those who are not exposed.

Hypothesis 5 (H5): The percentage of nutrient intake in preterm infants exposed to maternal voice throughout the entire oral feeding process is higher than in those not exposed.

Hypothesis 6 (H6): The feeding time of preterm infants exposed to the mother's voice throughout the entire oral feeding process is shorter than that of those not exposed.

Hypothesis 7 (H7): The amount of food consumed per minute by preterm infants exposed to the mother's voice throughout the entire oral feeding process is greater than that of those not exposed.

Detailed Description

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Oral feeding is one of the critical milestones in the growth and development of preterm infants. A delay in achieving successful oral feeding skills may lead to prolonged hospitalization, negatively impact mother-infant bonding, result in long-term feeding difficulties, impair growth and development, and cause adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. The literature reports that various methods have been used to enhance oral feeding performance, one of which is maternal voice. It has been reported that the maternal voice has a positive effect on the oral feeding performance of preterm infants. Continuing maternal vocal stimulation during the postnatal period (such as singing lullabies, reading books, or engaging in everyday speech) contributes to strengthening synaptic connections in the auditory cortex, increasing the brain's sensory processing capacity, reducing the infant's stress levels, and maintaining physiological stability. The maternal voice positively influences oral feeding performance by helping infants maintain an alert state and facilitating the coordination of sucking, swallowing, and breathing. In this regard, the maternal voice can be used as an evidence-based nursing intervention to enrich the care of preterm infants. However, the number of high-level evidence studies investigating the relationship between maternal voice and oral feeding performance is limited in the literature, and some existing studies report inconclusive results. Therefore, addressing this issue will help fill a gap in the literature.

In this study, preterm infants in the experimental group will listen to a lullaby recorded in their own mother's voice before and during oral feeding, twice daily (morning and evening) for five consecutive days. A Bluetooth-enabled, speaker-equipped voice recorder will be used for each infant individually. No auditory intervention will be applied to the infants in the control group. In both groups, physiological indicators and oral feeding performance will be measured on specific days.

Conditions

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Preterm Oral Feeding Performance

Keywords

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Preterm infants Oral feeding performance Maternal voice NICU care

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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Maternal voice group

The maternal voice will be played twice daily, starting 20 minutes before the morning and evening oral feedings and continuing throughout the feeding session.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Maternal voice

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Mothers of the infants in the intervention group will be asked to read aloud the lyrics of a designated in a calm tone of voice in a quiet environment, and their voices will be recorded. The recorded maternal voice will then be played to the infants in the NICU using the same Bluetooth-enabled device with built-in speakers. The audio device will be placed inside the incubator or open warmer, approximately 20-30 cm from the infant.

Each infant will be assigned an individual audio device, which will be used exclusively for that infant. Maternal voice playback will begin 20 minutes before morning and evening oral feedings and will continue throughout the feeding session, twice daily, for a maximum of 5 days. If the infant is discharged earlier, the intervention will be discontinued.. During the playback of the maternal voice, monitor sounds in the NICU will be minimized, and the staff will be instructed to speak quietly to maintain a calm environment.

Standard feeding group

This group will not be exposed to maternal voice before or during feeding; standard feeding care will be provided.

Group Type OTHER

Control Group (standard feeding )

Intervention Type OTHER

The control group will not be exposed to maternal voice, and standard feeding procedures will be applied.

Interventions

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Maternal voice

Mothers of the infants in the intervention group will be asked to read aloud the lyrics of a designated in a calm tone of voice in a quiet environment, and their voices will be recorded. The recorded maternal voice will then be played to the infants in the NICU using the same Bluetooth-enabled device with built-in speakers. The audio device will be placed inside the incubator or open warmer, approximately 20-30 cm from the infant.

Each infant will be assigned an individual audio device, which will be used exclusively for that infant. Maternal voice playback will begin 20 minutes before morning and evening oral feedings and will continue throughout the feeding session, twice daily, for a maximum of 5 days. If the infant is discharged earlier, the intervention will be discontinued.. During the playback of the maternal voice, monitor sounds in the NICU will be minimized, and the staff will be instructed to speak quietly to maintain a calm environment.

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Control Group (standard feeding )

The control group will not be exposed to maternal voice, and standard feeding procedures will be applied.

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Preterm infants born at gestational age ≥28 weeks and ≤34 weeks
* Infants who are ≥30 postmenstrual weeks old at the time of enrollment
* Infants weighing ≥1000 grams at the time of enrollment
* Mothers aged 18 years or older
* Preterm infants who have passed the hearing screening test
* Infants whose mothers can provide an average of at least 30 ml of expressed breast milk daily during the study period.
* Mothers who are Turkish speakers.
* Infants for whom the decision to transition from enteral feeding to full oral feeding has been made for the first time jointly by the physician and nurse

Exclusion Criteria

* Preterm infants with congenital anomalies.
* Infants with a family history of congenital hearing loss.
* Infants diagnosed with intraventricular hemorrhage (grade 3-4) or -periventricular leukomalacia.
* Infants who have had necrotizing enterocolitis requiring treatment.
* Infants whose mothers have a history of substance abuse or alcoholism
Minimum Eligible Age

1 Day

Maximum Eligible Age

28 Days

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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Acibadem University

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Semra Küçük

Research Assistant

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Semra Küçük, Research Assistant,Phd Student

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Acibadem University

Locations

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Acibadem University

Istanbul, , Turkey (Türkiye)

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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Turkey (Türkiye)

Central Contacts

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Semra Küçük, Research Assistant,Phd Student

Role: CONTACT

Phone: 0216- 544- 3666

Email: [email protected]

Duygu Gözen, Professor Doctor

Role: CONTACT

Phone: 0212-311-2640

Email: [email protected]

Facility Contacts

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semra Kucuk, Research Assistant,Phd Student

Role: primary

Semra Küçük, Research Assistant

Role: backup

References

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Hamm EL, Chorna OD, Stark AR, Maitre NL. Feeding outcomes and parent perceptions after the pacifier-activated music player with mother's voice trial. Acta Paediatr. 2015 Aug;104(8):e372-4. doi: 10.1111/apa.13030. Epub 2015 May 16. No abstract available.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 25892736 (View on PubMed)

Chorna OD, Slaughter JC, Wang L, Stark AR, Maitre NL. A pacifier-activated music player with mother's voice improves oral feeding in preterm infants. Pediatrics. 2014 Mar;133(3):462-8. doi: 10.1542/peds.2013-2547. Epub 2014 Feb 17.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 24534413 (View on PubMed)

Chirico G, Cabano R, Villa G, Bigogno A, Ardesi M, Dioni E. Randomised study showed that recorded maternal voices reduced pain in preterm infants undergoing heel lance procedures in a neonatal intensive care unit. Acta Paediatr. 2017 Oct;106(10):1564-1568. doi: 10.1111/apa.13944. Epub 2017 Jul 5.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 28580602 (View on PubMed)

Chhikara A, Hagadorn JI, Lainwala S. Effect of maternal voice on proportion of oral feeding in preterm infants. J Perinatol. 2023 Jan;43(1):68-73. doi: 10.1038/s41372-022-01493-4. Epub 2022 Aug 18.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 35982244 (View on PubMed)

Alabbasi Y, Parker L, Weaver M, Krueger C. Maternal Voice Exposure and Its Effect on Premature Infants' Feeding Milestones: A Systematic Review. Adv Neonatal Care. 2023 Apr 1;23(2):E40-E49. doi: 10.1097/ANC.0000000000001029. Epub 2022 Oct 3.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 36191331 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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ATADEK-2025/09

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id