On Friday, 16 June 2023, at 2 pm, the Ljubljana Children's Hospital hosted Dr Manuela Filippa, a researcher at the Aosta Valley University and the University of Geneva, musician, educator and developmental psychologist whose extensive personal and professional experience has led her to explore the voice at the very beginning of life. She studies how the newborn – with a special focus on premature babies – is affected by the mother's voice; how it directly influences the stability of vital functions, the perception of pain and, across time, the mental and emotional development of the infant.
The lecture presents the theoretical framework of early voice contact, the supporting evidence, and a systematic review of findings on this topic. The second part of the presentation explains the impact of early voice contact on preterm infant development and its potential for family-based interventions, grounded in video recordings of cases and evidence-based studies. The lecture concludes with concrete recommendations for implementing early voice contact in clinical practice.
Dr. Manuela Filippa, foto: SOJ RTV SLO/personal archive
In 2021, Dr Manuela Filippa was a guest of the Radio Slovenia broadcast B-AIR Zvočenja / Soundings. A recording of her talk with Igor M Ravnik is stored in the radio archive: https://www.rtvslo.si/radio/podkasti/b-air/173251254/174782422
"Voice, Sound and Music in the Intensive Care Unit" workshop. Presented is the clinical application of the human voice, sound, and music in sick neonates, with best practice cases. Through guided video examples, the workshop audience is able to observe premature infants' responses to early voice contact. A series of recordings is played with the aim of identifying the main acoustic and behavioral features of early parent-infant contact. Special attention is directed to the video corpus of premature infants during hospitalization.
The event, held in English, is organized by Radio Slovenia in the framework of the project B-AIR and the University Children's Hospital, Clinical Department of Neonatology. The lecturers are Dr Igor M Ravnik and Dr Manuela Filippa. The complete program in English can be found here.
EARLY VOCAL CONTACT IN THE NICU: A NEW PERSPECTIVE FOR PROTECTIVE INTERVENTIONS
Lecture for the Pediatric Association (SZD) and artists, 24 September 2021
In a lecture for the Paediatric Association of the SZD and artists, Dr Manuela Filippa presented her research and clinical work and the role of voice and music on children's early development as well as on children's health. The mother's voice can also help heal, stabilise the vegetative system, and raise the threshold for pain.
