Parents of Preterm Infants in the NICU Need to Talk the Talk For Their Babies to Do Likewise

We certainly recognize how valuable it is to read aloud to babies beginning in early infancy -- but how many parents talk to their preterm babies in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) -- and when they do, does it make a difference? Caskey et al. (doi: 10.1542/peds.2011-0609) tried to address these questions in an interesting study being released this week. The authors followed a cohort of preterm infants <= 1250 grams and monitored adult word counts relative to infant vocalizations and the results are worth talking about! When parents talk, their babies listen, and talk back a lot sooner than infants of parents who simply sit by their babies and say less. These differences are specific to parents and not others who spend time taking care of preterm babies. The benefits of talking to your preterm baby in the NICU are fully elaborated upon in the discussion section of this paper. This study is well worth sharing with expectant parents during a prenatal or newborn visit, whether it occurs in the well baby nursery or in the NICU.