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A recent feature in Melbourne’s Herald Sun has shone a spotlight on Mercy Health’s Music in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) program at Mercy Hospital for Women in Heidelberg, highlighting the impact music therapy can have on premature and critically ill newborns and their families.
The NICU music therapy pilot is supported by Miracle Babies Foundation and Chiesi, reflecting strong collaboration between health services and partners in delivering holistic, evidence‑based care. The approach aligns closely with Mercy Health’s commitment to caring for the whole person – including emotional and spiritual care – extending compassion to patients and families at every stage of life and upholding and respecting the dignity of all, including the tiniest of patients.
Timed with World Music Therapy Awareness Week, the coverage showcases how carefully tailored singing, humming and guitar playing are being introduced into the NICU as a four-month pilot. The sound and music is tailored to each baby’s cues – a beautiful way of honouring the lived experience of babies in the NICU. The program is designed to reduce stress, support heart and respiratory regulation, encourage early brain development and strengthen bonding between parents and their babies, with the longer‑term aim of supporting smoother hospital experiences.
Consultant neonatologist Dr Nat Duffy told the Herald Sun that early outcomes have been encouraging, citing the responsiveness and calmness observed in babies involved in the program, noting; “Music therapy is inherently relational. When delivered through live, responsive singing or the parent’s voice, it becomes a medium for co-regulation, positioning connection as a primary regulatory mechanism within care. In this way, it reflects a broader commitment to early relational health, where the infant is not a passive recipient of intervention but an active participant whose physiological, emotional, and relational worlds are inseparable and continuously co-constructed within the NICU context.”
For parents such as Alexandra Berlangieri, whose twins Massimo and Leonardo were born seven weeks early, music therapy provides an additional layer of support during a prolonged and uncertain hospital stay. The strum of the guitar and the lyrics to ‘You are my sunshine’ are a welcome addition to an environment replete with beeps and monitors.
The program is delivered by Mercy Health music therapist Lauren Salib, whose work gained further attention following the newspaper coverage. Off the back of the Herald Sun article, Lauren was invited for a live in‑studio interview on ABC Melbourne’s Breakfast radio program to discuss the role of music therapy in neonatal care.
During the segment, Lauren spoke about the need for music to be responsive to each baby’s cues and family circumstances. She also performed a song commonly used in the NICU, prompting an emotional response from host Gorgi Coghlan – who is filling in on ABC Melbourne – and reinforcing the depth of connection music can foster in clinical settings.
The national attention generated through print and broadcast media underscores the role of innovation, informed by mission and evidence, in strengthening care for the most vulnerable members of our communities. Mercy Health’s Music in the NICU program exemplifies how Catholic health care services continue to respond thoughtfully and responsibly to complex clinical needs.
