Kellee Meder’s pregnancy journey took an unexpected turn when she went into labor at 29 weeks while vacationing in the Bahamas with her husband and mother last August. Isolated in an un-air-conditioned room due to COVID restrictions at a local hospital, she was separated from her newborn daughter, who was subsequently admitted to a nearby neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Meder, a kindergarten teacher from Cranberry, had to raise $54,000 to fly home with a medical team on a private jet, making the entire experience a traumatic ordeal.
Upon their return and with her baby at Allegheny Health Network’s (AHN) West Penn NICU, Meder shared her birth experience with Dr. Tracey Vogel, the director of West Penn’s Perinatal Trauma-informed Care Clinic. Dr. Vogel suggested that Meder participate in the Lullaby Project Pittsburgh, an innovative initiative that collaborates with Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Music in the College of Fine Arts to offer customized support to expectant AHN patients and new parents facing emotional birth challenges.
The Lullaby Project offers parents an opportunity to reflect on their childbirth experiences and envision a brighter future for their children. Claire Gunsbury, the founder of Lullaby Project Pittsburgh, who holds a Master of Music in flute performance from CMU, described it as a therapeutic process that connects families with student musicians who assist them in creating personalized lullabies.
Next month, the Lullaby Project Pittsburgh will celebrate its one-year anniversary, and thanks to generous funding, the program is provided at no cost to participating families.
The program’s student musicians guided Kellee Meder in transforming her emotions into lyrics for an uplifting Caribbean-inspired lullaby called “The Bahama Mama Song.” Meder praised the musicians, stating, “It made me dig deeper into what I was feeling.”
Every lullaby crafted through the project is as unique as the experiences and challenges faced by each family. According to Dr. Vogel, “There is no one set pathway for these individuals. They are all hurting, and to know that we’ve been able to create something that’s different — it’s magical to watch what happens for them.”
For one Lebanese family unable to take their newborn home, they composed an adventure song about their return to their homeland. Another couple expressed their newfound family bond through their lullaby.
Amy Walsh, a therapist and life coach from Kennedy Township, shared how the program eased her during her second pregnancy after experiencing a traumatic first birth in 2020. She described the group music and sound therapy sessions as beneficial, particularly appreciating the supportive community environment. Guided by the musicians, she transformed her feelings into lyrics for her 1- and 3-year-old sons’ lullaby.
Originating at Carnegie Hall in New York City, the Lullaby Project has now touched the lives of 15 families in Pittsburgh. CMU student musicians engage with families in three 2 ½-hour weekend group and individual sessions. These students are introduced to the project through a music entrepreneurship course that emphasizes social justice, trauma, empathy, and human connection.
Monique Mead, the director of music entrepreneurship at CMU, who serves as an advisor for the project, expressed her surprise at the profound impact on the students. For Sean Andres, operations director of the Lullaby Project Pittsburgh, student participation was a part of his Advanced Music Studies Certificate in Music Entrepreneurship program. He highlighted the rewarding aspect of working with a diverse team to facilitate one of the purest forms of human connection.
The project is set to expand next month as student musicians, including recent graduates still involved in the project, will undergo training to support families associated with AHN’s Olivia’s Angels program for perinatal palliative care and bereavement. Dr. Vogel stated, “We would like to offer Lullaby sessions to those individuals and families who have experienced loss. This training will be invaluable to the musicians in working with these people.”
The feedback from participating families has been overwhelmingly positive. One key reason for this success is the ability to transform personal experiences into enjoyable and meaningful musical compositions. Gunsbury summed it up by stating that the project’s exploration of the playful aspects of music, creativity, improvisation, and the power of a simple melody have reignited the passion for why we create and cherish music in the first place.
