Connecting with your baby through sound and song

Sound origins is a place to help parents, families and healthcare professionals use sound and song to cope with the many hopes and challenges that come when a baby is seriously unwell and needs the support of a neonatal intensive care unit.

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Each of the topics we offer is designed to help parents, healthcare professionals and music therapists use sound to build connections with themselves, their baby and their support network.

Our Sound & Song journal contains ideas and spaces for you to explore ways of using rhythm and sound.

Explore your journal

Playlists help parents and staff share and connect with sounds and songs that help us navigate through different emotional weather.

Browse Playlists

Ask your friends and family to share sounds and songs with you to celebrate and support your baby.

Create Musical Gifts

Training, resources and publications to support parents, practitioners and organisations using Sound Origins.

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What people have told us about Sound Origins

“It's a way to connect to connect among us […] not just because of the way we work, but because of the way we feel or see music or what the rhythms we like”

– Nurse (anonymous)

“We literally have so many nationalities in the unit. So imagine how many different music we're going to be all listening to!”

– Nurse (anonymous)

“It makes me relax. I like the diary. I can write what I feel while listening to the music”

– NICU Parent

“I don't know what could have helped me before, but these little, little things can… I'm using it in my own time… I'm calming myself so that I can give my baby a nice time… it really does help”

– NICU Parent

“Speaking with Kirsty and using the website resources has supported our practice in engaging families and their babies through sound. The narratives and tools have helped facilitate meaningful conversations about sound in relation to connection, communication, and belonging, offering a thoughtful and accessible perspective for parents and babies.”

– Thomas Rowe, Occupational Therapist

“I’ve really enjoyed using Sound Origins in our supper club groups. The playlists provide a fantastic starting point for conversations about meaningful music, helping people share memories and connect with each other. We’ve also seen how music and these play lists can support co-regulation with babies, which has been especially valuable for parents. It’s a thoughtful and engaging resource that staff and families respond to very positively.”

– Emily Hills, Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist

Sound Origins was developed in collaboration with parents and healthcare professionals who have lived experience caring for a seriously unwell baby on a neonatal unit.

Discover our journey