Listening to classical music 'can relieve pregnancy stress'



Women who listened to CDs of classical music felt more relaxed during pregnancy than those who did not

Mothers-to-be who listen to lullabies, classical music and sounds of nature are less likely to feel stressed about their pregnancy, a study has shown.



The music's tempo was set at 60 to 80 beats per minute, the same as the human heart, and was found to ease anxiety and depression.



Scientists split pregnant women into two groups, with 116 given music CDs and 120, in the control group, receiving normal pregnancy care.



The women using the music received four CDs, each containing about 30 minutes of music.



One CD featured lullabies, a second contained classical music, a third included nature sounds and a fourth played New Age 'crystal music' versions of Chinese nursery rhymes and songs such as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.



The women were told to listen to at least one disc all the way through, every day, for two weeks.







They could choose when they listened to the music but had to record what they were doing at the time and which CD they chose.



Most listened while they were resting, at bedtime or carrying out chores.



Widely used measuring systems were utilised to work out how the women felt.



Listening to music such as that of German composer Ludwig van Beethoven can relieve stress in pregnant women

The results showed those in the music group were far less stressed, depressed or anxious at the end of the study.



Professor Chung-Hey Chen, who led the

study at Kaohsiung Medical University in Taiwan, said: 'Pregnancy is a unique and stressful period for many expectant mothers and they suffer anxiety and depression because of the long time period involved.



'Our study shows that listening to suitable music provides a simple, cost-effective and non-invasive way of reducing stress, anxiety and depression during pregnancy.'



The women in the study published in the Journal Of Clinical Nursing were between 18 and 34 weeks' pregnant.



Before the study, the women in the music group scored 17.44 on the Perceived Stress Scale, which ranges from zero to 30 and is used to measure the perception of stress.



Afterwards, their stress levels had dropped by an average of 2.15, compared with 0.92 in the control group.



Anxiety was measured by a scale ranging from 20 to 80. It fell by 2.13 from 37.92 in the music group and rose by 0.71 in the control group.



Depression was measured by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, which ranges from zero to 30.



The music group reported an average level of 12.11 before the study and a reduction of 1.84 at the end of the two-week period. The score was almost constant in the control group.



Professor Chen said: 'The music group showed significant reductions in stress, anxiety and depression after just two weeks.'



