NEW mums at Barts and The London NHS Trust are being helped to bond with their babies as part of a pioneering music project. In the hours after birth, new mums are visited by musicians, who compose a unique, personal lullaby for their new arrival. Medical research has shown that music can strengthen the ties between parent and child, help with feeding and sleeping and even shorten the length of hospital stays. The project is a joint collaboration between the trust's Vital Arts department and Spitalfields Music. Christine Wood, baby-friendly co-ordinator at the Royal London, said: "Many new mothers often lack the confidence that they are able to soothe and calm their own baby, so helping them realise they can do so by singing to their baby is a real morale booster. When musicians come onto the ward, there is an immediate, perceptible change in atmosphere - it becomes quieter, calmer and everyone seems at ease - and the effect lasts well after their departure."
Music project for new mums at Barts
