Vita Rimienė presenting her paper at the annual conference of the Lithuanian Neonatologists Association / © MF archive
On December 4th of this year, the annual conference of the Lithuanian Neonatologists Association took place, dedicated to the development of family-oriented care methods for newborns. During the conference, Vita Rimienė, a student in the joint music therapy master's program of Vilnius University Faculty of Medicine (VU MF) and the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (LTMA), presented a paper on the application of music therapy for premature infants and their mothers at the Neonatology Center of VUL Santaros Clinic. V. Rimienė practices and conducts research in early music therapy at the Neonatology Center, aiming to evaluate the impact of music therapy on maternal anxiety and the mother-infant bond (supervised by neonatologist Dr. Rasa Garunkštienė).
A moment from the annual conference of the Lithuanian Neonatologists Association / © MF archive
V. Rimienė introduced the relatively new practice of music therapy in neonatology to the extensive community of neonatologist physicians in Lithuania. Although still relatively new in Lithuania, this approach has been applied globally for three decades. In her presentation, V. Rimienė reviewed the latest scientific articles and research results, sharing insights into the benefits of music therapy for premature infants and their parents. A highlight of the presentation, attracting significant attention, was the video material from music therapy sessions, intending to demonstrate one of the most rapidly evolving methods in the past decade – the creative music therapy approach.
"Based on the latest research results, we need to seek the most effective ways and utilize all possible resources in the care of premature infants. One of them is involving and empowering parents in the process. During music therapy sessions, I encourage mothers to use their voices, hum, sing to their babies, get to know their reactions, and communicate with them through rhythmic musical improvisation. This idea is reflected in the title of my presentation – 'The Power of Mother's Voice to her Premature Infant in Music Therapy.' The title also encodes a personally significant message for me: I am the mother of triplets born prematurely twelve years ago – Dovydas, Jokūbas, and Elzė. So, presenting at the Lithuanian Neonatologists Association conference was a great honor for me," shared Vita Rimienė after the conference.