Grey Nuns launches NICU music therapy program
Edmonton hospital seeks community funding for first-of-its-kind program helping families bond with premature babies through music.
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Grey Nuns Hospital is looking to make the NICU experience less isolating for families with premature infants — through the power of music.
The hospital ran a pilot music therapy program for four months with remarkable results. Rebecca Lappa, a master's student and music therapist from Edmonton who was born prematurely herself, designed the program after approaching the hospital with the idea. She works with families in the NICU, using guitar and other music to help reduce infants' heart rates, support sleep, and create bonding moments for parents who can't yet hold their babies.
One family's story captures the impact. Gypsy Bendoy's son Timothy, born prematurely and now over a month old, experienced a noticeable change during a therapy session. "He was smiling, could see like a little smile in his face," she said. Her husband, a musician, has played music for all three of their premature children since birth — but Lappa's professional approach opened something different. "Seeing my baby without monitors, responding to it, relaxing, it's all coming back to me," Bendoy said, tears in her eyes.
Mark Lansing, program manager at Grey Nuns, calls the impact transformative. "The family is more mental health benefits, really uplifting, takes them to a different place than being in a critical care hospital environment," he said. The two-year program could cost up to $70,000. The hospital and Covenant Foundation are reaching out to the community for funding to make it permanent.
The response from families who experienced the pilot has been uniformly positive — a vote of confidence for a program addressing one of the hardest chapters new parents face.