Music therapy helps preemies thrive and go home sooner

Parents know the power of music when it comes to lulling a baby to sleep. But for premature newborns, music therapy can unlock a new kind of healing. As experts explain, the tunes can help babies leave the NICU sooner.

The neonatal intensive care unit can be noisy with the crying and all the machinery.

"Constant beeping which is not necessarily the most soothing," said Melissa Corleto of Los Angeles.

She and her husband remember the cacophony of sounds inside the NICU when their twins arrived early.

"Our son was two and half pounds when he was born and our daughter was three and a half pounds when they were born," said Adam Corleto.

Now at 14 years old, twins Joey and Ryder Corleto are back at the NICU at Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children's Hospital to give premature babies the gift of music.

"I play the drums and I perform in a couple of bands and Joey is on a competitive dance team. So we both really connect to music," said Ryder.

The siblings contributed their bar and bat mitzvah gifts - and on top of that, fundraised and donated $20,000.

"We decided that this is what we wanted to do for our good deed together to donate to the NICU," said Joey.

Board certified music therapist Laura Cellini pays attention to how a baby responds.

"So it's a process. It's not just me going and playing guitar. It's a lot more of me looking at the monitors. Making sure they're stabilized," she said.

As soon as Cellini starts singing, the effects are immediate. Oxygen levels go up and the heart rate slows. Babies even stay in the NICU for shorter periods of time because of music therapy. But the benefits go beyond that.

"It helps with their development, it helps with their brain development. It helps with their feeding. The other thing that we want to support is the whole family. This gives them the opportunity to create those meaningful moments to strengthen their bonds in a special way," said Joanne Ordono, a child life specialist.

"Calmed us down. Allowed us to relax," said parent Sharif Joshua. His newborn daughter has spent the last few weeks in the NICU. Baby Ande reacted just like her parents did.

"One of the rates on her monitor seemed pretty steady. We saw the difference there," said Allegre Burlew, Ande's mother.

The idea of music being healing is not new, yet about half of music therapy positions in pediatric settings rely on philanthropy.

Joey and Ryder's parents hope their good deed will help give families hope and healing.

"It's hard and scary but you just have to be brave and hang in there," said Adam Corleto.