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Introduction: Early vocal contact aims to enhance closeness between preterm infants and their caregivers, principally through the medium of the voice. In this chapter we will refer, in particular, to the maternal voice, due to its special status for foetuses and newborn infants, but vocal contact should also be sustained between preterm infants and their fathers, siblings, nurses and caregivers.

Aim: the specific aims of this chapter are (1) to review the literature on maternal voice and preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU); (2) to identify and to describe the pathways through which early vocal contact acts as an early, family-based intervention for preterm infants in the NICU; and (3) to suggest some final recommendations.

Conclusions: Encouraging live vocal contact, with preterm infants, far from being only a sensory/acoustical stimulation, can activate a number of related and …