Perinatal Music Therapy: Using Doppler Recordings to Connect and Create

Often the first sound of human life occurs in prenatal care when a Doppler ultrasound devicedetects the baby’s heartbeat. In late 2013 at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Brian Schreck, MA, MT-BC, piloted an innovative music therapy intervention that involved recording internal sounds of a patient’s life to create music with patients and their families. Many devices were explored and adapted: Doppler ultrasound devices, iPad apps, a constructed stethoscope microphone, an electronic stethoscope with Bluetooth, and other digital stethoscopes to record patients’ hearts beating and lungs breathing. This intervention aims to capture moments in time which may be preserved for future connection with the patient and family.