Influence of Quiet Time on the Auditory Environment of Infants in the NICU.

Objective: To determine the influence of quiet time on the auditory environment of infants in the NICU and to compare the effect of quiet time by room type, bed type, and infant clinical acuity.

Design: Cross-sectional, descriptive comparison study.

Participants: Sixty-six infants born at less than 38 weeks gestation who were between 32 and 40 weeks postmenstrual age.

Predictors of Parental Presence in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Background: Parental presence in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) may affect preterm infants' developmental outcomes. However, few studies have described predictors of parental presence in the NICU.

Purpose: To identify sociodemographic, clinical, environmental, and maternal psychological factors that predict parent presence in the NICU.

The Power of Language Nutrition for Children's Brain Development, Health, and Future Academic Achievement.

Language Nutrition, a term created to describe language exposure that is rich in quality and quantity and delivered in the context of social interactions, is crucial for a child's development and is strongly associated with his/her future literacy, academic achievement, and health. However, significant differences in children's early language environments contribute to disparities in their educational and health trajectories. Interventions, including book distribution programs, coaching parents to enrich their child's language environment, and public awareness campaigns, have all been shown to positively influence a child's access to language-rich interactions.