Hospital Universitario Dexeus has launched a bedside library for children in its intensive care unit after finding that reading stories to young patients can ease pain and calm anxiety, according to the doctor who oversees the unit.
Doctor Laia Vega Puyal, coordinator of pediatric and neonatal intensive care at the hospital and a member of the working group of the Neonatal and Pediatric ICU, said just 30 minutes of reading is enough to trigger measurable chemical changes in a hospitalized child's body. Oxytocin, linked to wellbeing, rises, while cortisol, the stress hormone, falls, she said.
That hormonal shift does more than calm a frightened child, Vega Puyal said. It also acts as a therapeutic support that helps ease the perception of pain.
Benefits for newborns and premature babies
Vega Puyal said reading to newborns, particularly premature infants, stimulates brain maturation by strengthening the left arcuate fasciculus, the brain structure responsible for processing language. She said babies exposed to reading show double the vocal interactions by 36 weeks of development and achieve far more stable speaking and listening abilities in their first two years of life.
Reading aloud also biologically synchronizes mother and baby through the release of hormones such as oxytocin, Vega Puyal said, which lowers parental stress by letting parents reclaim an active role in their child's care and strengthens the bond in a critical setting. She said the practice, built into family-centered care models, is even linked to greater weight gain in infants and shorter hospital stays.
How it helps parents and siblings
Being in an intensive care unit often leaves parents feeling out of place or powerless, Vega Puyal said. Reading to their children restores their role as caregivers, she said, giving them a sense of security, easing their distress and helping them connect warmly with their child.
Siblings suffer too when a child is hospitalized, something that is often overlooked, according to Vega Puyal. She said books act as a bridge for talking about those feelings, giving siblings words they cannot otherwise find to express fear or loneliness. Reading together, she said, humanizes the hospital and creates a shared language that unites the whole family during a difficult time.
The Biblioteca de los Sueños
The new initiative, called the Biblioteca de los Sueños, or Library of Dreams, has had a good reception, Vega Puyal said, a result that was already expected following the success of its provisional phase.
She described the project as vital because it answers one of families' deepest needs: the desire to feel useful and connected to their child during a moment of great vulnerability. The system is simple, she said. Parents or siblings choose books from the library and bring them to the child's bedside, turning the ICU room, usually a cold, highly technical space, into a warmer, more human environment where the family bond regains its central place in the child's care.
What families are reading
The library offers a broad selection tailored to different ages and needs, Vega Puyal said, ranging from illustrated books ideal for reading stories to babies to novels aimed at teenagers.
A key part of the collection is bibliotherapy books, which she said act as tools to help children understand their illness, the changes in their bodies or their emotions in simple terms. The library also stocks novels for family members, she said, since giving relatives reading material they enjoy is a key strategy for reducing their own stress and creating moments of calm and normality inside the hospital.
Vega Puyal said the hospital does not yet have a ranking of the most requested titles, but called it valuable information the team plans to gather through the satisfaction surveys given to families.
Reading about other sick children
Asked whether it helps a sick child to read about other children going through illness, Vega Puyal said it is very beneficial. Bibliotherapy uses stories in which characters face similar situations so a child can process their own emotions and questions in a safe space, she said.
By identifying with the protagonists of these stories, she said, children better understand their treatment and the physical changes they are experiencing. Seeing themselves reflected in others who have faced similar situations brings them reassurance, helps normalize their experience and reduces the anguish that illness can generate, she said.
