Australian hospital uses music to stabilize children’s heart rates

For the past 30 years, the Queensland Children’s Hospital has been using music therapy to stabilize the heart rate of children during and after medical procedures. And the impact on patients has been lasting. The simple and soothing sounds of an acoustic guitar, calming lullabies, and melodies were created for some of the young patients at the Queensland Children’s Hospital. “She feels nice and relaxed. She goes to sleep very easy. Very calming,” says Ruby’s mom Jade Carson. Just 10 weeks old, Ruby came into the world with half of her heart severely underdeveloped. She started music therapy when she was one month old. “Her heart rate does come down and, yeah, she is a lot more stable,” explains Carson. For 30 years now, the corridors of this hospital have been filled with calming tunes played by music therapists. Dr. Jeanette Kennelly was one of the first to use this soothing technique. “I was actually lucky to do a clinical placement as a student at the old Royal Children’s Hospital,” says Kennelly. She is now the clinical lead and this year alone she has already overseen 750 young patients who benefited from music therapy. “We actually receive referrals from doctors, from nurses from other allied health in the hospital about children who are having difficulties with being in hospital,” says Kennelly. The therapy is also a source of inspiration for children who want to become musicians, like Evie. “Evie’s just had a love for music and just recently, the last four months, we’ve been able to get guitar lessons at home,” says Evie’s mom Lee Smith. Evie Smith is nine years old and has Cystic Fibrosis. She has to stay at the hospital on a regular basis. Now, those visits have also led to lessons with a music therapist. “It took the edge off the procedures, there was a calmness in the room, and watching Evie smile was worth it,” says Smith. This article was provided by The Associated Press.