Sound origins was developed by parents and healthcare professionals caring for a seriously unwell baby on the neonatal unit
The study
The Sound Origins study was developed as part of Kirsty Jane’s NIHR-funded Doctoral Clinical Academic Fellowship, which she was awarded in 2023. Kirsty is a specialist neonatal music therapist with enhanced expertise in neonatal palliative care. Drawing from her experience as a music therapist and the insights shared by parents, she aimed to develop neonatal music therapy to improve its relevance and accessibility for both neonatal parents and healthcare professionals. With the support of the award, Kirsty, parents and healthcare professionals collaborated to listen to lived experiences and co-design an approach to music therapy that would better support parents and healthcare professionals facing uncertainty in the neonatal unit.
Through surveys, interviews, focus groups and design workshops, Sound Origins was developed.
Please contact Kirsty to share how you’ve used the playlists, journal or musical gifts, or to provide feedback and recommendations.
Partners
We gratefully acknowledge the invaluable support and collaboration of our project partners.
Contact
If you would like to get in touch to suggest songs for future parents or for more information on using sound and song to support parents and babies, please contact:
Kirsty.Jane1@nhs.net
Our research
If you’re interested in our research, you’ll find below research papers and chapters that we have published as part of our work.
‘George’s Lullaby: A case study of the use of Music Therapy to support parents and their infant on a palliative pathway’, ScienceDirect
K. Ormston, E. Rose and K. Gallagher
Journal of Neonatal Nursing 2022 Vol. 28 Issue 3 Pages 203–206
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnn.2022.01.011
‘Lines of communication: creating continuing bonds on the neonatal unit’
K. Jane, M. Titus and D Ram Mohan
In: Music Therapy in Children’s Palliative Care: Collaborative Family and Practitioner Voices, edited by V. Kammin and J. Russell
Chapter 2, Routledge 2025
‘Parents’ experiences of psychotherapeutic support on the neonatal unit: A mixed methods systematic review to inform intervention development for a multicultural population’
K. Jane, D. Wood, K. Gallagher, P. Livermore, H. Shoemark and G. Robert
Nursing in Critical Care 2024 Vol. n/a Issue n/a
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/nicc.13194
‘Being a parent in neonatal care environments: A survey of the acceptability of sound and song for parents with seriously unwell infants on UK neonatal units – ScienceDirect’
K. Jane, K. Gallagher, P. Livermore, H. Shoemark and G. Robert
Journal of Neonatal Nursing 2025 Vol. 31 Issue 3 Pages 101674
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnn.2025.101674
‘Supporting continuing bonds for parents with infants with uncertain futures on neonatal units in the United Kingdom: co-designing a culturally sensitive music therapy intervention’
K. Jane, K Gallagher, P.Livermore, H.Shoemark and G. Robert (in press)