MUSIC AND CHILDBIRTH

 

Music is considered in the planning of events, such as parties, weddings, funerals, and any other event that may need music. Music is considered because it is usually known that it will enhance the event. In the same way, it’s worth thinking about the benefits that music can bring to labour and birth and the ways in which it can help you on your big day. Music is an important part of the labour experience for many women. Listening to it really helps them get through labour.

Although there have been advancements in anesthesia for labor and delivery in recent years, many couples today choose to have a natural childbirth experience. It has been substantiated by research that birth outcomes for mother and baby can be greatly enhanced through the natural childbirth process. Many free­ standing and hospital ­based family birthing centers are popping up around the country to meet this growing need. Several non-pharmacological interventions are available to laboring mothers including: hypnosis, biofeedback, touch and massage, hydrotherapy, acupuncture, and transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation. Another successful discomfort management technique being explored is the application of ‘prepared music programs’ or ‘designer music’ during ‘Music Therapy Assisted Childbirth’. In the field of music therapy, ‘programmed or designer music’ is defined as music that is selected to have a specific effect on the listener.  It is proven more effective than listening to just any music. However, if you prefer silence during labor music and sound therapy can still help you manage pain.

 

People’s musical tastes vary widely but most of us have favourite tunes which energise, relax or just lift our mood. All of these can be useful in labour. Whatever the reason or occasion, there’s no doubt that music makes us feel good, and it can definitely help improve our mood. And it’s no different when you’re in labour. Research has shown that listening to music during birth can actually help reduce the perception of pain and decrease anxiety. The studies have revealed that music has a calming effect on both blood pressure and breathing in labour. It really helps to regulate heart rate and breathing, as well as reducing the amount of morphine type drugs needed. When music reduces anxiety, it can help you feel calm and in control. Music will then trigger the brain to release increased levels of the ‘happy hormones’ endorphins and dopamine.

 

Laura Perguni, accounts that music helped her in labour, after using it during both her children’s births. She says, “I used calming pregnancy meditation music in place of drugs, and it absolutely helped,” she says. “I became so focused on the sounds in the music that it distracted me from the pain. I didn't realize how much it helped until the playlist finished and the pain levels completely shot up to unbearable. I remember shouting at my husband to get the music back on!” 

 

Again, according to Pip Wynn Owen, a childbirth educator, registered midwife and mother of four, music during childbirth not only benefits the labouring woman, but also her partner, her baby and the care providers. “As a midwife, I’ve seen how music can transform the harsh, sterile hospital environment into a calm, intimate birthing space. Most people are conditioned to relax to music, so it can make even the most harassed midwife or doctor slow down and realize they are part of something very special,” she says. “Music has also been used in operating rooms to help Mum, Dad, and staff remain calm when birthing hasn’t gone to plan.” 

The key benefits of listening to music during labour and birth are:

•    Familiar music helps you feel calm and in control.
•    Music can reduce anxiety and assist in pain relief.
•    Your music helps to make the labour room ‘your own’.
•    Music blocks out other distracting and unwanted sounds.
•    Music can help you to move & staying mobile can help your labour and birth.
•    Labour can be a long ‘journey’; having music to listen to can act as a welcome distraction.

The amazing effect music has on the mind starts even before birth. Recent studies have shown that children exposed to classical music in the womb exhibit a positive change in physical and mental development after birth. In a recent experiment, fetuses were exposed to 70 hours of classical music during the last weeks of pregnancy. At six months, these babies were more advanced in terms of motor skills and linguistic and intellectual development than babies who received no musical stimulus. Babies are born with 100 billion loosely connected nerve cells in their bodies - various cognitive and mental experiences help establish and strengthen the inter-cellular connections in the brain. Scientists now believe that listening to music is a key “brain-building” experience.

After labour, listening to music also helps your baby grow. Babies just love songs, rhythms and music and, like children and adults, greatly benefit from a musical environment. However, 

scientists have found that the effect music has on the young minds of babies is far more significant that one would imagine.  Studies have shown that music affects the physical, emotional, and intellectual development of babies and children and strengthens cognitive and sensory development.

 

Music will create unforgettable bonds with baby before and at the time of birth. At the moment of birth the music can become part of your permanent memory landscape.  A simple playlist of songs can help you revisit the memories at any time, rejoicing in the happiness or healing from difficulties that were faced in labor. Along with holding the space for the biological imperative of bonding after birth, music can also etch the vibrations of your family birth song in your minds and on your heart, forever.

 Music has the power to take everyday moments in life and make them sacred.  Music allows your mind to retrieve and feel with the same intensity experiences that happened two months or even two decades ago. Music harnesses tremendous power.

 

In the West, listening to music during labour and birth is not a new idea, however it is often overlooked as a coping strategy and given that it costs nothing and can work in conjunction with other types of ‘pain relief’, it is worth planning a playlist that is personal to you. You will need a Music Therapist or a qualified musician, with experience, to assist you.

All the benefits of music during labour can be just as important for a calm, relaxed and positive pregnancy. Listen to music often for relaxation, to reduce anxiety, and to lift your mood and energy. And if you listen to your playlist beforehand, you’ll be helping to program your mind for all the benefits to kick in quickly when you do go into labour. 

But more than just for laboring women, everyone can benefit from using music prior to, during, or after medical care.  Scientific sources supporting therapeutic benefit of music are numerous and have been proven in children, open heart surgery patients, cancer patients, pre-operative patients, women waiting on surgical procedures, or testing (such as a mammography), just to name a few. Take advantage of the instant healing effects of music.  Experiment with how different instruments and genres of music create different moods and physical states in your body. Music is not just something to listen to… but to heal and heighten your enjoyment of life.

Sources:

1. http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/birth/options/pain-relief/how-music-can-help-when-youre-in-labour-20140618-3acwh

2.      https://www.modernmom.com/f3e7cc90-3b3d-11e3-be8a-bc764e04a41e.html

https://heartandharmony.com/mtacb/

3. http://www.madeformums.com/pregnancy/why-music-is-so-important-when-youre-giving-birth/30323.html

4.      http://www.tinylove.com/en/articles/the-importance-of-music

https://creativechildbirthconcepts.wordpress.com/2015/05/08/5-reasons-to-use-music-for-childbirth/

5.     https://ecocentricmom.com/giving-birth-naturally-with-music/