Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star is still the best baby-taming verse but mums need to work on their lullaby delivery to settle upset newborns, a University of Queensland study has shown.
The study found when mothers sing a lullaby, the volume of her voice, pitch, tempo and tone as well as her patting and rocking styles, all affect how quickly her baby can be settled.
UQ’s Ethnomusicologist Dr Elizabeth Mackinlay, an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit senior lecturer, and Dr Felicity Baker, a music lecturer and music therapy coordinator, led the research.
The pair spent 10 weeks with 20 first-time mums in Brisbane training them to sing lullabies and quizzing them on their lullaby experiences.
After the lullaby program Dr Baker said the mums were more relaxed, less anxious, more in control, felt like better mums, spent more quality time with their babies and they looked forward to this time rather than dreading it.
“They learnt things about themselves too, like how they were feeling at the end of the day and what types of things were winding them up,” Dr Baker said.
As the mums progressed in the program titled Sing, soothe, sleep: combining music and motherhood, babies grew accustomed to the routine and slept sooner.
Dr Baker’s tips for singing lullabies were to sing and pat or rock babies in time but most importantly, match the baby’s temperament before settling.
“Most mothers think that if they sing a slow lullaby that it’s going to bring the baby down,” she said.
“You need to meet them where they are musically, then lower their arousal by slowing down the way you sing.
“When the mother sings a song in a way that is a bit up tempo and bit tense, the baby’s getting this recognition that they’re being understood — that my mum knows I’m stressed.”
For a distressed baby a mum might start repeating Hush Little Baby then slow down to Brahm’s Lullaby.
Dr Baker said the best all-purpose lullabies were Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star followed by Kum Bai Yah and Brahm’s lullaby.
She said she hoped the UQ lullaby program could be used around the country in antenatal classes and to help mothers with post-natal depression.
Media: Dr Baker (3365 3740, f.baker1@uq.edu.au), Dr Mackinlay (3365 6712, e.mackinlay@uq.edu.au) or Miguel Holland at UQ Communications (3365 2619)
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