Effect of Maternal Voice on Physiological Indicators and Feeding Performance

Launched by ACIBADEM UNIVERSITY · Jul 7, 2025

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is studying whether hearing their mother’s voice during feeding can help preterm babies feed better and stay more comfortable. The researchers want to see if listening to their mom’s voice improves babies’ oxygen levels, heart rate, breathing, and overall feeding skills. They also want to find out if these babies eat more efficiently and finish feeding faster compared to babies who don’t hear their mother’s voice during feeding.

Babies born between 28 and 34 weeks of pregnancy who have passed hearing tests and weigh at least 1000 grams may be eligible. Their mothers need to be at least 18 years old, speak Turkish, and provide breast milk regularly during the study. The babies should be starting full oral feeding for the first time, meaning they are moving from tube feeding to feeding by mouth. Families can expect their baby to listen to the mother’s voice throughout the entire feeding process while researchers monitor the baby’s vital signs and feeding performance. This study is not yet recruiting participants but aims to better understand how a mother’s voice might support feeding and health in preterm infants.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• 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