Sounds for Silence

‘Sounds for Silence Baby Settling and Health Guide’ – now in its 2nd edition, is a comprehensive and practical book containing over 100 pages of advice for parents on baby settling strategies, managing irritability, and infant health issues. Dr Harry Zehnwirth reassures that parents are not alone in an empathetic and sometimes humorous way.

Evolving from a perceived need in the community, Dr Zehnwirth identified that the two most common problems experienced by new parents and babies are infant irritability and sleep difficulties. Sound for Silence CD and Health Guide Package, are based on Dr Zehnwirth’s over 20 years of Paediatric experience and provide a modern solution to the age-old problem of soothing unsettled babies. It also is based on Dr Zehnwirth’s knowledge that lullabies (and soft, ambient music) do not work to settle crying babies.

Looking for a practical answer, he realised the enormous benefits of using different sounds to settle babies. Not gentle lullabies that many expect, but the harsher sounds of our every day lives, the rhythmic patterns of continuous sounds. He blended and combined daily sounds, the background noises from the domestic environment layered with maternal physiological sounds, rather like sounds mimicking the womb and found they effectively distracted, engaged and soothed unsettled infants.

Sounds for Silence has been featured on A Current Affair, Sunrise, and Channel 7 News.

Claims

Trials found that babies responded best to low-pitched and consistent sounds These sounds were recreated or technically crafted with the help of an audio engineer. The trials showed that using the CD, 75% of babies settled in less than 5 minutes, 53% of babies settled in less than 60 seconds and 31% settled in less than 20 seconds.

Sounds for Silence received a strong vote of confidence from parents. Asked whether or not they would recommend the CD to other parents on a scale from 1 (definitely not) to 5 (definitely yes), 96.25% responded 4 or 5 on the yes end of the scale.

Criticisms

Parents complain that the noises on the CD are unpleasant and irritating to listen to. Dr Zehnwirth agrees, but reinforces they are baby specific sounds.

Another concern is that if you play the CD too loud it will damage the babies hearing. This is not true, consider how loud they cry.

Dr. Zehnwirth

Dr Harry Zehnwirth is a consultant Paediatrician with more than 20 years of specialised medical education and experience. Paediatrics is a specialised area of medicine that involves the care of infants, children and adolescents. It encompasses neonatology, emergency medicine, management of acute illnesses and chronic conditions, as well as behavioural and developmental health.

The rapport Dr. Harry has with young patients, families and colleagues is testimony to the clinical competence he demonstrates as well as the trust and reassurance he engenders. He is a strong believer in the beneficial effects of fun and magic in medicine which he uses to distract, humour and reassure children (and their families) during medical consultations and hospital care. He is renowned for finding innovative treatment solutions such as "Tickle Therapy" which is now used as an effective form of chest physiotherapy for young children.

See Also

*Child development
*Infant and child development
*Child development stages
*Crying
*Maternal health

References

[http://www.mja.com.au/public/bookroom/2007/hiscock/hiscock.html Sound sleeping for infants. Hiscock H. 2007 Medical Journal of Australia (MJA) Volume 186 Number 1. January 2007 p. 44]

[http://www.racgp.org.au/afp/200609/11206 The Crying Baby. Hiscock H. 2006 Australian Family Physician Volume 35 No 9 September 2006 pp 680-684]

Sleeping like a baby. McKay P. 2006 Penguin Books Victoria p. 302

Sounds for Silence - Baby Settling & Health Guide. Zehnwirth H. 2006. oKIDokie Pty Ltd. Australia (ISBN 0-646-45384-X)

Sov Godt. En guide til foraeldre med sma born. 2005 Zehnwirth H. oKIDokie Pty Ltd.

External Links

[http://www.soundsforsilence.com.au Sounds for Silence website]