Reading picture books aloud to help stabilize preterm babies and ease parent anxiety
Official title: The Effectiveness of Parental Reading Picture-book Intervention on Cardiopulmonary Stability, Hospitalization Anxiety and Parent-Child Attachment Relationship With Premature Infants
Run by National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University · NCT06854549 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This trial will test whether parents reading picture books to their preterm infants in the NICU helps stabilize babies' heart and breathing rates, lowers parental anxiety, and improves parent-child attachment.
Quick facts
| Study type | Interventional |
|---|---|
| Ages | 28 Weeks to 37 Weeks |
| Sex | All |
| Enrollment | 88 (estimated) |
| Sponsor | National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University Academic / other |
| Locations | 1 site (Taipei, Beitou) |
| Status | Recruiting |
| Started | June 23, 2025 |
| Main results expected | June 28, 2026 |
| Study ends | June 28, 2026 |
| Registry record updated | September 30, 2025 |
| Trial ID | NCT06854549 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
Is this trial a fit for you?
✓Likely a good fit
Preterm infants born between 28+0 and 36+6 weeks who have been transferred out of the incubator and passed newborn hearing screening, with at least one parent who can read Chinese and communicate in Mandarin, are eligible.
✕Probably not a fit
Infants receiving sedatives, hypnotics, or caffeine therapy or those with external ear abnormalities, and parents with auditory or speech impairments or who cannot read Chinese/communicate in Mandarin, are unlikely to benefit or be eligible.
A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.
What this trial studies
This randomized controlled trial will enroll 88 preterm infants and at least one parent at a medical center in northern Taiwan and randomly assign pairs to a picture-book reading intervention or usual care. Parents in the intervention group will read picture books to their infants from a corrected gestational age of 28 weeks until 36 weeks and 6 days. Researchers will record infant physiological measures (heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, and heart rate variability) and collect parental anxiety and attachment measures at multiple time points. Outcomes in the reading group will be compared with the control group to see if the intervention improves infant cardiopulmonary stability and parent psychological outcomes.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the intervention could improve infants' cardiopulmonary stability, reduce parents' hospitalization anxiety, and strengthen early parent-child attachment.
How similar studies have gone: Related interventions using parental voice or music have shown promising effects on preterm infant stability and parental anxiety, but picture-book reading as a structured intervention is less well studied.
Who can join: the full rules
Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * Preterm Infants: 1. Born between 28+0 and 36+6 weeks of gestation. 2. Transferred out of the incubator as per medical advice. 3. Passed the newborn hearing screening in both ears. * Parents of Preterm Infants: 1. Able to read and comprehend Chinese-language materials. 2. Capable of communicating in Mandarin. Exclusion Criteria: * Preterm Infants: 1. Presence of external ear abnormalities. 2. Receiving sedatives, hypnotics, or caffeine therapy. * Parents of Preterm Infants: 1. Having auditory or speech impairments.
Where it's running
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Taipei Veterans General Hospital
Taipei, Beitou, Taiwan Recruiting
Study contacts
- Study coordinator: CHI-WEN CHEN, PhD
- Email: chiwenchen@nycu.edu.tw
- Phone: +886989581661
How to take part
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
- Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.