SALISBURY TWP., Pa. – Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital is prioritizing the power of music, one lullaby at a time.
The hospital is launching a new initiative to help ease the anxiety of parents whose babies are receiving treatment in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
“I make up a song or two from time to time, but it’s never written down. It’s all just impromptu. It’s more about silly things,” said Hunt Rose, a NICU parent.
Rose picked up a guitar, in a crowded room inside Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital Kasych Family Pavilion.
“This could be a lifelong song,” said his wife, Amanda Rose.
The Roses are turning their feelings into lyrics.
For the last 88 days, the parents of two have spent every second they can with their daughter Sophia in the NICU at Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital.
“Being able to sit and think about a time beyond the NICU,” said Amanda. “Things will be better and good.”
For a brief time, their minds wander into the sound of music.
“I am not musical. I cannot sing, but I still got a lot out of this,” said Amanda.
“Nobody truly knows, I think, the trauma of having a baby in the NICU,” said Rebecca Salter, NICU Nurse Navigator at Lehigh Valley Health Network.
Salter is listening in on the Roses’ very own lullaby.
“Creating a lullaby for their baby is going to be something that would be something so memorable for them,” said Salter.
Salter has been working in the NICU for nearly two decades.
“And I’m a mom myself, so if I would have had the opportunity to do something like this, it would have been awesome,” said Salter.
The Lullaby Project, a program of Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, has a mission to reach all parents with babies in the NICU.
It helps them dive into music with the guidance of an instructor and lean on tunes that soothe the soul, as a tool to encourage bonding with their babies and relieve stress and anxiety.
It’s taking Lehigh University Zoellner Arts Center Executive Director Mark Wilson down memory lane.
“My children I have, who are twins, were born early, and they were in the NICU for six weeks. I wish there was a tool for myself to deal with that anxiety that I had,” said Wilson. “This gives those parents [the] opportunity to create lyrics from their anxiety, and to have them create something from that pain and then make it joyful; something that they can actually then create with their children for the rest of their lives.”
“If the rest of your day is tied up in this very serious, emotional, important effort, you still have a right to take a few seconds to just breathe, pause, escape that,” said Jason Sizemore, Co-Executive Director of Mindful Child Initiative.
LVHN is partnering with Mindful Child Initiative and Lehigh University Zoellner Arts Center to kick start the program.
“Coming together, using their artistry, their facilities, their expertise, and then letting us have a platform to share mindfulness with Zoellner, and also then the community and the parents, is just such a gift,” said Sizemore. “It’s so moving. I’m so excited that you’re going to see this.”
“They focus on our emotional needs. And, you know, supporting the family so much, which makes a big difference, I think, going through this whole process, especially such a long term,” said Amanda. “We’re lucky that we get to do it together. We’re able to be that support system for each other.”
“It’s been a whirlwind,” said Hunt. “For all the NICU parents out there; you got it.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.wfmz.com ’
