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Keywords

infants, preterm, reading, neonatal intensive care unit

Disciplines

Nursing

Description

Who doesn't love curling up with a good book on a rainy day? Well, babies are no different! Reading a book to an infant is not only soothing to both parties, but also beneficial for brain growth and development. Studies have shown that infants begin hearing around 18 weeks in utero, and an infant can hear at the same level as an adult as they near full-term (36 weeks). Pediatric research has found that speech and language development can start as early as birth and reading to an infant daily can expose them to roughly 80,000 words in a year's time! Beginning early exposure to reading is an important habit to establish a strong foundation for language and encourage an early love of reading.

Preterm infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) have been identified as having decreased language exposure compared to their full-term counterparts. Reading books to these babies helps support language advancement and encourages parental involvement in both their baby's daily care and their overall development.

Publication Date

5-6-2024

Comments

Nurses Week at Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital, Royal Oak, MI, May 6-12, 2024.

Encouraging our NICU to

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